Kirk Acevedo – The Workprinthttps://www.theworkprint.com
Mon, 21 Jan 2019 10:00:56 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.974195751’12 Monkeys’ Series Finale Ends At The Beginninghttps://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-series-finale-ends-at-the-beginning/123
https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-series-finale-ends-at-the-beginning/123#commentsSat, 07 Jul 2018 03:06:01 +0000https://www.theworkprint.com/?p=24479As far as series finales come, I can’t imagine a more satisfying ending to 12 Monkeys as the show answers all the questions we’ve had since season one and brings a brilliant end to one of the best science-fiction shows ever to have graced the small screen. Here are the unforgettably insane (in the greatest …

]]>As far as series finales come, I can’t imagine a more satisfying ending to 12 Monkeys as the show answers all the questions we’ve had since season one and brings a brilliant end to one of the best science-fiction shows ever to have graced the small screen.

Here are the unforgettably insane (in the greatest way possible) moments from episodes 410 and 411:

Athan Visits His Great-Grandmother

I was really hoping that we would see Cassie and Cole’s son one more time before the series ends and the show delivers on this! Athan pays Jones a visit in 2037 just as she and a team of scientists are restarting Project Splinter at Raritan National Laboratory. As she takes the protective sheet off the machine, Athan appears behind her posing as a scavenger. He tells the older woman that he’s not here to harm her and that the gun he carries is more for his own protection. Athan then offers her a cigarette but she declines and he remembers that she gave it up because of the loss of a loved one (Hannah). Now Jones suspects that Col. Foster sent him because how else would he know such an intimate detail about her? He asks if she’s prepared to send men to their deaths since she’s going to need a lot of test subjects and Jones answers back with a resounding yes. Athan comments that it’s awfully selfish of her to kill so many just to save one and it is presumptuous of her to think that she should change the world. He leaves her with the thought that there may come a time when one life to seven billion will be too much, but he asks her to consider that no matter what to save the one. Jones gets distracted as the machine comes to life and when she turns around Athan is gone.

Completing Cole’s Cycle

Back in 2043 Cole, Cassie, Jones, and Jennifer gather around the meeting room coming to grips with the truth that Cole is the demon that needs to be erased. Jennifer is crying (not knowing that all of her visions would lead to this), Jones looks exhausted and broken hearted, while Cassie is furious because of everything that they’ve given up for time. They have all lost so much and she refuses to accept that the man she loves needs to be wiped from existence. Zalman Shaw’s words to her never felt more true that she too would understand what it feels like to be robbed of a love so deep. She storms off after Jones asks her how else is it supposed to end? There might be another way, but they have just run out of time with Olivia already having activated Titan’s ultimate paradox.

Jones tells her grandson that they need to complete his cycle so that he ends up here with the answer. Well hello to you future a-hole. Cassie helps him get ready to intervene in all the times future Cole had gone back to help himself and the rest of Team Splinter. We finally witness those scenes from future Cole’s perspective such as fighting himself back in season three when past him was trying to rescue Cassie from Titan. What he said back then makes sense now that all they will both ever have are the moments in between the beginning and the end, but that’s true for all of us. I’m not crying you’re crying! As Cassie walks up to him at the decrepit Emerson lobby and says that there’s another way we now understand what she means. And lastly after saving Jennifer at the train station she asks which Cole he is and he responds the last one he’ll ever be. One major difference however is that now we can see the ominous red clouds of the paradox storm approaching outside.

As they return to the facility in 2043, a new problem arises. It appears that their machine would take 3 years to process the code provided to them by the primaries when they only have 12 or 13 hours at best before time collapses. Cole proposes that they use Titan because the complex must have massive processing capabilities. They would somehow need to upload the code into that system as well as stop Olivia’s paradox machine. Cassie tells him that they still stop the Witness but he doesn’t have to die, though he argues that this is the way it’s supposed to be because the virus mutates and there’s no one left alive in 2063. In this super serious moment Cole tells her that they can do this together and that he has a plan. After this whole time of winging it Cassie has to smile that it takes the end of the world for him to come up with a course of action to take.

Shock and Awe

As Cole explains his plan, Cassie makes a surprising suggestion to help them pull it off. What’s that you make ask? Bring back Jose Ramse for one last job!! Join me in the collective fangirl screaming because HOLY CRAAAAAAAP the gang’s getting back together! Cole grabs Ramse right before his past self catches up and to pull the trigger in the forest. The two men return to 2043 and duke it out with Ramse finally sobbing that he was sorry. Once things settle down Cole fills his bff in on Olivia being the Witness, her quest to destroy time, and their plan to thwart her. Cassie and Ramse have a somewhat awkward meet and greet but hey, it’s the end of days so they put their beef aside.

The trio then head to the meeting room where Jones, Jennifer and Adler are. The scientist of course is pissed because causality! Cole rightfully points out that it’s not going matter because if they fail everything goes to hell anyways. Casserole then reveals their strategy to take Titan. First things first, they need a sweet ride. Cole and Ramse go back to the past to pick up a car that Matthew Cole had stored away in a garage around the time Hannah had left. Speaking of which he finds a diamond engagement ring that his father intended for his mother to wear.

And that leads us to…

A Beach Proposal Y’all

That’s right! Amidst all the insanity that Team Splinter is about to embark on, Cole takes a moment before they jump into their last mission to take his lady love to a beautiful beach. It’s the same place that he had seen in a vision earlier this season. He presents Cassie with the engagement ring his father had gotten for his mom.

“I don’t have forever to promise you, the most I can give you is this moment. But it’s yours if you’ll take it.”

Cassie doesn’t say yes but she lovingly caresses his hair and face while trying not to cry. He then slips the ring on her finger and they hug it out. She then whispers that this isn’t enough. Cole tells her to look at the sun and that it’s so beautiful because it sets. That is real deep Time Jesus. The hue of the scene though begins to change from a mild yellow to tints of red, telling us that the paradox storm has arrived at this moment as well. Darn you Olivia for taking this! Reality catches up and they now must return to fulfill their mission.

Mission Impossible: Take Titan

Their first objective is to make contact with the Witness in order to bring Titan to them. To achieve that Jennifer makes some red tea and visits the house of cedar and pine. Ms. Goines tells Olivia that even though she destroyed the weapon what it was meant to do was in her brain the entire time. Jennifer bluffs that their machine was ready to blast the other woman from existence and purposely antagonizes her. Olivia falls for it and jumps into the primary’s body where she sees Jones sitting on her wheelchair. She tells the scientist that it’s too late and the red forest has begun when Jones challenges her assumption. The Witness then sees the code written all over the walls and surfaces inside a massive room in the splinter facility. She freaks out, jumps back into her own body and orders Titan to splinter to Manhattan in 2043.

Meanwhile above ground, Ramse and Cole are inside the black car and readying themselves for Titan’s appearance. What comes next is just a beautiful moment that had me jumping up and down in sheer joy. Cole suggests that they listen to some music but Matthew was into country and western, not exactly the tunes you listen to when one is about to go out in a blaze of glory.

“I gotta die to a good song brother! A GOOD SONG!” I absolutely agree with you Ramse.

After one more shuffle what comes up next is that iconic song from the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warner and could there be a more perfect accompaniment for this scene? No because it’s freaking brilliant. Ramse bursts out laughing because he is totally digging it.

“It feels right,” Cole says. Amen to that brother!

Ramse revs the engine just as Titan appears and the camera zooms out as the music continues to play. The moment feels very reminiscent of the Delorian zooming down the street in the Back To The Future films and I love it so much. The song’s light hearted melody to the seriousness of their mission is such a contrast but works brilliantly. The two come barreling through interrupting Olivia’s evil overlord pep talk to her minions. Meanwhile Cassie orders the rest of the Daughters to protect their machine while she andJennifer head to another part of the complex to upload the primary code and have the system process it.. But first Jones splinters the facility from its underground location beneath the Emerson hotel into the heart of Titan. When then Olivia instructs for Titan to move location, Katarina counters that by using her machine to disrupt the towers. Cole and Ramse then need to take out the power station to stop the temporal spire from continuing to paradox time.

Olivia’s advisor suggests that they splinter the central spire, but they would need to stop the sequence in order to do that. The Witness says hell no and commands him to take their troops to destroy Jones’s machine because it is their only weapon. If they stop the paradox now it would reverse everything which she doesn’t want of course. There are only 15 minutes left to go before she achieves the red forest.

Don’t You Forget About Me

Outnumbered and outgunned, things are not looking good for Team Splinter inside Titan on all fronts. But who comes to save the day? Old Jennifer and the glorious folks from West VII led by Deacon, who is still alive in 2043!! The ol’ primary radios her younger self requesting a song and here is another perfect moment where the tides turn in Team Splinter’s favor. Turns out that what she had to do when she left the facility was to recruit an army of scavengers, knowing that they would need more manpower to for this last stand. Old Jennifer uses Deacon’s knives to prove to him that time travel and everything she said was true via a paradox demonstration. Thus convinced he heads to Titan and eventually runs into Cole and Ramse after shooting some Army of the 12 Monkeys goons. He asks why he shouldn’t just kill them and the two men show their West VII scars, signifying that no matter what’s happened they are still brothers in the end. As Ramse says, “We’re ride or die.”

With the decoding complete, Cassie and Jennifer head to the controls at the spiral tower in case Cole, Ramse, and Deacon aren’t able to take out the power source. Upon arriving there, Olivia knocks Jennifer out but Cassie puts up a glorious fight. In this epic battle, the Witness seems to have the advantage given her special genes and all. But like most evil villains she has to give a little speech and Olivia tells the virologist that she envies the other woman because she’s never loved anything (except the red forest). In fact Cassie has more need of time collapsing than she does. All she’s done is witness while Dr. Railly has lived up to this very moment. This girl talk has given the CDC doctor the opening she needed to grab the knife strapped to her boot and plunge it into Olivia. Cassie then flips the leader of the Army of the 12 Monkeys over and proceeds to punch her lights out. It’s Jones who breaks this spell of vengeance by crying out through the walkie that they are running out of time. The virologist leaves the unconscious Olivia to head to the controls. Meanwhile the West VII boys did accomplish their directive in destroying the power core.

At the controls Olivia throws in one more scare as she comes up from behind and has Cassie in a neck lock, saying that they are too late. Cassie manages to break free but the Witness merely changes their position and taunts that she and Cole will soon be in the house of cedar and pine forever. But what she doesn’t notice is one of the splinter towers still dangerously active and swinging uncontrollably. As Olivia tells the doctor that she knows the other woman’s perfect moment Cassie says no this is and I am in 100% agreement with her. The other woman is able to push the Witness into the path of the splinter ray and the upper half of her body vanishes. Just then Cole speaks through the walkie and asks Cassie to shut the machine down. Unfortunately she’s been struggling with the anger and desolation of losing him and now at the most critical moment Cassie finds that she wants the red forest. She apologizes to him and Cole knows that he’s got to go to her. As runs faster than he’s ever run before and makes it to the top of the tower, debris blocks his way from reaching her at the controls. She tells him that they can have forever and he says sure they can have it all until it means nothing because it never ends. He adds that they can be together forever until they can’t even remember what it feels like to find each other again. He’ll go with her or they can have now with an ending that makes it real. Dang Cole is spouting such deep truths! He begs her to give them an ending and that seems to do the trick as she finally shuts down the machine. All the destruction is then reversed in an instant.

What Comes Around Goes Around

But wait where did Olivia’s upper half get sent too? THIS IS MY FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE ENTIRE SERIES. We arrive in the year 894 amidst snowy capped mountains where the Witness’s is dying and then we get the voice over of Jennifer saying there’s something about its eyes and another person stating that the body contained a dormant form of the Kalavirus. Time speeds up and the remains become skeletal and we get Olivia’s own voice saying I was a thing in a box and now she’s become just that again. Ladies in gentlemen, the Witness was the Annapurna Remains that we first saw in the Night Room back in season one. HOLY CRAP thank you 12 Monkeys for answering this mystery that has plagued me since the very beginning. Karma is not to be toyed with Olivia.

The Last Splinter

Now Team Splinter needs to protect the beginning by preserving what’s left of causality to ensure that Cole arrives at this final moment. That means everyone must return to their original timeline and continue on. Before that though Cassie catches Deacon and Old Jennifer before they depart and she hugs the ScavKing, telling him that he is a good man. The two then go off to have many more adventures.

First Ramse returns to the forest where past Cole will shoot him. He tells future Cole that he’ll save his goodbye for the him that really needs it. James tells Jose that in the end they did the right thing and the two brothers hug for the last time. Next up is Jennifer and Jones tells her that Hannah will become an amazing woman because of her. The primary tries to say goodbye to Casserole but gets choked up, instead she steps up to the splinter seat and declares that an actor doesn’t say goodbye to her audience only good night and wakes up and does it all over again. She lastly bids adieu to the machine and is sent back with her stuffed unicorn.

Finally it’s Cassie’s turn and Cole gives her back her watch that she’ll need since he will find it with her remains. He tells her that he remembers the first time they met while he was waiting in the backseat of her car. James was watching her walk in the parking lot and that he was already in love with her. He recalls thinking that night that he was about to ruin her life but now he gets to give it back. They didn’t have a lot of time but they lived a lifetime together. And cue tears. As she says I love you and gets on the splinter seat, we finally hear the full recording of the message she meant for Cole and Jones to find back in season one.

“My name is Dr. Cassandra Railly of the Maryland CDC. We’re working on containment of the Kalavirus at the CDC station in Baltimore. Jones if you can hear me the plague starts with Leland Goines security designation Frost. But we are the true architects of the plague. The Army of the 12 Monkeys, they’re watching me, I’m running out of time. The answer is among you. Please Cole remember death can be undone, love cannot.”

Jones finishes loading the Titan processed primary code into her machine. Cole suggests the scientist have one more smoke before they perform this final splinter. He tells his grandmother that he had always meant to ask her where she got the cigarettes and she responds that she grew her own tobacco next to the cucumbers outside Raritan. Katarina thanks her grandson for keeping his promise to see this to the end with her. Cole says that he’s never told her what she’s meant to him and says that he had two mothers. He’s glad that she’s here with him now. When he turns around, Jones has her eyes closed and has peacefully passed on, cigarette still in hand. He handles the final task on his own, preparing the splinter sequence and sitting on that chair one final time.

The Aftermath – A World Changed

As Cole is erased from multiple moments, time is able to correct itself. We go back to 2013 where in season one Cassie was giving a lecture on epidemics, but now Cole is not in the backseat of her car waiting. However this Dr. Railly gets a flash of herself at the machine controls at Titan. She looks at her watch and then goes to the Emerson hotel looking for a James Cole. Cassie has the strongest sense of déjà vu because she had been there before in a different timeline. When she asks the front desk manager about suite 607 he says that they stop selling those permanent residences in the 1940s. She seems to have remembered the life she had once lived.

But what of the others? Jennifer had successfully bioengineered a unicorn and seems to be looking right at Cassie through the TV screen during a press conference. Lasky and Adler ended up meeting each other and are seen playing chess at the park. Meanwhile Ramse still had Sam for a son despite it all. Deacon and his brother opened up a bar with Old Jennifer being a patron! The Jones’ stayed as a family with Katarina giving birth to Hannah and Elliot never having left. Cassie then finds a listing for the house of cedar and pine and decides to purchase it. Every night she is still hopeful and says see you soon.

As for Cole, well he ends up being sent to the beach that he had seen in a vision as well as where he took Cassie when he proposed. Who’s there waiting for him with a tropical drink? Jennifer! She tells him that this isn’t heaven, just the Keys (they’re in Florida). He asks if this is real and Ms. Goines responds that she’s the wrong person to ask that. The primary reminds him that the right ending is the one you choose, but she then adds that sometimes it’s the one someone else choses for you. In this case brilliant Jones tinkered with the primary code! Athan’s words from the beginning of episode 10 then makes sense as he tells his great-grandmother that no matter what save the one, his father. Jones did scrub James out of the timeline but she made sure he got spit out somewhere. Hey what use is knowing the unwritten laws of the universe if you can’t break at least one? He asks what about the risks and Jennifer says that time knows that but also understands that it owes Cole a big one. Finally accepting that he really is alive, he hugs her saying that she was never crazy and that she was the best out of all of them. He travels from the beaches of Florida to the autumn colored trees of upstate New York to find Cassie. The two are reunited outside their house and it’s happily ever now.

Final Thoughts

Well that’s how to you end things, with a bang and then some! While I am among the scores of fans who aren’t ready to say goodbye, we’ve got to remember Cole’s words that what makes anything worthwhile is that it has an ending. The road to get from season one to now was a maze filled with many interesting corridors, intersections, and crossroads. We got to see so many different periods and places throughout history as well as meet interesting characters with their own backstory. One such unforgettable individual was the primary Lillian played by none other than Madeleine Stowe during season two. Stowe starred in the original 1995 12 Monkeys film as psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly. But wait the TV adaptation even incorporates this as Cassie’s mother was psychologist Kathryn Railly whom we met in season three. This is thoughtful and detailed attention the show gives to the story and there are so many more examples like that.

While we don’t know how Jones was able to manipulate the primary code so that Cole survived the last splinter without time still being messed up, I’m going to take this happily ever now because he has gotten the short end of the stick throughout the entire show and frankly he and Cassie deserve good things.

Since the show’s debut in January 2015, it’s been one hell of a ride through time with a bold, complicated, and cohesive narrative, complex characters, unexpected whimsical humor, compelling villains, gorgeous sets and visual effects, solid musical accompaniment, amazing throwbacks to its source material, and last but not least the stunning cinematography. 12 Monkeys was gripping from the very beginning and joins the ranks of great science fiction television such as Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Fringe, The X-Files, and Firefly.

To the entire cast, crew, writers, producers, directors, composers, editors, basically everyone involved in this production, thank you for giving us four outstanding seasons of 12 Monkeys. While the series comes to a close, we’ll always have the red forest.

]]>https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-series-finale-ends-at-the-beginning/123/feed224479’12 Monkeys’ S4 Episodes 1-3 Review: The End Beginshttps://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-s4-episodes-1-3-review-the-end-begins/123
https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-s4-episodes-1-3-review-the-end-begins/123#commentsSat, 16 Jun 2018 02:55:43 +0000https://www.theworkprint.com/?p=24338In the final season of Syfy’s 12 Monkeys, the epic sci-fi series picks up right where season three left off with time running out for Team Splinter as Olivia is out to destroy them for good. But as we’ve come to expect, everything is never quite as it seems to be on this show and …

]]>In the final season of Syfy’s 12 Monkeys, the epic sci-fi series picks up right where season three left off with time running out for Team Splinter as Olivia is out to destroy them for good. But as we’ve come to expect, everything is never quite as it seems to be on this show and we wouldn’t it any other way.

Here are the important moments in the first three episodes of season four.

The Primaries

This season begins during medieval times with a narrator telling the story that Cole’s father had told him when he was young.

“There once was a serpent who only traveled in one direction. Always forward, never backward. Until one day, the serpent came upon a demon.”

A group of armed soldiers come upon individuals dressed in robes standing in a circle. The leader of the soldiers addresses the hooded figures as heretics, witches, warlocks, and primaries. He demands to know where the weapon is, but one of the primaries only laughs, saying that they’ve already foreseen this event and have covered themselves in oil. Soon they are all burned and we see someone wearing a medieval looking plague mask accompanying the soldiers. Some distance away, a young girl screams in terror as she sees the bodies engulfed in flames in her mind. An older man hands her a bronze ouroboros artifact and tells her that she must now take it because he can no longer keep it for her. The girl of course is another primary and now it is her mandate to watch over the ouroboros, remember the legend, and the name James Cole.

The Facility Splinters

With the Army of the 12 Monkeys outside their door, things are not looking good for Team Splinter as they can’t possibly hope to outgun their enemies. Their salvation comes in an experimental project meant to use in dire circumstances only. Jones is still seriously injured as she gasps and suggests that most of the facility should be splintered. Project Charon (tidbit: Charon is the Greek mythological ferryman of the dead) is time travel without the time part as Lasky explains that they’ve adapted Titan’s splinter array by modifying the Eliot Jones’s early machine prototypes. They will need to set up repeaters that will disperse the beam at the bottom levels of the facility to form a perimeter and everything within it gets taken along for the ride. Jones asks Cole to trust her one last time (despite her trying to kill him, Cassie, and Athan under Olivia’s influence).

With an assault outside and the core unstable because of the underground river being heated up, Team Splinter needs to hustle hard to get out of this precarious situation. Deacon volunteers to create a distraction and he heads outdoors to collapse the big chimney onto Titan like a giant hammer. He succeeds but at great cost because he ends up getting left behind when the beams are activated. Cassie is fighting Cole trying to somehow figure out a way to get Deacon but the Time Jesus drags her away. Cold Cole, real cold.

As the assault continues, Lasky gets shot in the head (R.I.P. Lasky) just after he sets the coordinates for their new location (it’s underground!). Cassie and Cole kill Olivia’s minions like super trained assassins and hell its impressive. However, the core still needs to get stabilized in order for them to splinter. Like a badass, Jones injects herself with an adrenaline shot to do the deed. Whitley finds her tries to dissuade her from cooling the core manually because she’ll get radiation poisoning, but time is running out for them as Titan’s beams is about to splinter the facility to shreds. The soldier tells the scientist that he’ll cover for her as much as he can. Jones is able to stabilize the power source and heads back to the hallway to find a critically injured Whitley seated on the ground. As the splinter sequence begins he closes his eyes and dies. The facility thankfully achieves its mission (albeit it without Deacon who is trapped on the other side of the beam) just in time before Titan’s beams collapse the outer structure of Raritan National Laboratory. While Olivia believes that their cycle has ended, Team Splinter lives on!

But where exactly did they go? It turns out that they got transported below the Emerson Hotel.

The Plague Has Begun

Meanwhile in 2018, the plague has begun and a very bright haired Jennifer Goines sits at an outdoor café looking at a very familiar sketch of the ouroboros and the monkey at its center in Prague. It turns out that she’s there to procure a very specific item that we first saw at the beginning of the first episode this season, the ouroboros puzzle piece that is supposed to be given to Cole. This old artifact just happens to be on display at a local museum. Once she enters the space, she appears to be talking to another Jennifer through an earpiece. Pink haired Jennifer sends a toy monkey in a car to distract one of the guards, then uses a laser device to create a hole through the protective glass casing. Unfortunately, once she takes the item a pressure alarm goes off. She then runs into the guard, but takes him out with some kickass moves…or does she? The other guard at the security desk watches a CCTV feed showing the actual Jennifer awkwardly tumbling her way into the exhibit. She was just imagining the edgy vaping version of herself! The dude lets her walk out because he doesn’t really care anyways. When the two Jennifers reunite at their hideout, we discover that the piece is the key to everything and that she and Athan both saw it in their visions.

Back to the Beginning

As Cole and Cassie venture outside to look for supplies, the whole team is essentially demoralized. Cassie especially feels that they are just running around in circles. They need an atom cell to kick start the core but to get that they need another time machine. When the survivors gather to discuss their next steps, Cole suggests that they go back to Raritan get the an atom cell from spare core that was left behind. He also shows them Jennifer’s drawing of the ouroboros and the monkey and says that he knows this image (he and Cassie found it inside their old room at the Emerson). He insists that they need to get the machine up and running again because Jennifer is the key and there is more to this than what they’ve experienced so far. But everyone else thinks it’s too dangerous to go back to the lab and Cole storms off by himself. As he walks from New York City to somewhere outside of Philadelphia, he stops and tells whomever is following him just to come out already. Hannah emerges and says that she came so that he wouldn’t have to do this alone. Suddenly though they hear noises and follow the sounds. As the two hide behind an abandoned car, they see Ramse and another Cole walking along talking about Cole’s impending time travel adventure. The duo realize that they’ve didn’t just move through space they have also gone back to 2043, the year it all began. Geez It’s good to see Ramse again.

Cole takes Cassie and Jones with him as they follow 2043 Ramse and Cole back to Raritan after they make a stop to get dead Cassie’s watch at the CDC office where her skeleton is. We saw a part of this scene in previous seasons. As the three chrononauts camp out for the night trying to determine how they got here, Jones postulates that the machine must have scanned through its data history and sent them back during its first successful splinter (give or take a few months). As they debate the danger in stealing an atom cell from their past selves, Cassie says that they need to go after Olivia in the in the 70s because it’s their best opportunity to get her as she’s unguarded. The other woman had apparently been arrested in 1971 for some unknown reason. Aside from this moment she had been always off the grid and protected by the Army of the 12 Monkeys.

They decide to take the risk of robbing themselves and set up a mock outbreak to force a protocol that would have everyone be locked in their quarters. Thus the trio will then be able get what they need without the other party knowing. Cassie decreases the oxygen levels at the one of the decontamination bays, causing the canaries (that serve as a warning for contamination) to die (or pass out). Jones is to prep the time machine to send Cassie and Cole back to 1971. The scientist however suddenly has an idea and tells him to keep out of sight and wait for Dr. Railly.

2043 Jones Meet 2046 Jones

As 2046 Jones decides to lending a helping hand to her past self, Cassie observes 2043 Cole watching a video of her being interviewed in 2018. The virologist on the small screen almost turns to look at her in the future and says that sometimes a circle allows for a second chance. Does this mean that the Dr. Railly being interviewed is actually a future version of Cassie that goes back to 2018 at some point? Meanwhile the Joneses are debating on how future Jones trusted the wrong person (Olivia) and it cost them everything. The 2043 scientist tells her counterpart that if she’s lost hope borrow some of hers and to trust herself. This inspires 2046 Jones and she says suppose that the other her doesn’t remember this moment, to which 2043 Jones says a bottle of whiskey and some meds will take care of that. Her past self asks how to work the tethers to which she answers that time is a curve and to not think of machine programming so linearly. The answer to program with an algorithmic spiral.

There is a clash between Cassie and Cole as she wants to go to 1971 to kill Olivia while he wants to find Jennifer in 2018. Jones says that they can do both, investigate the future and attack the past because there no longer is one single mission. As Dr. Railly is about to leave she asks the man she loves to come with her, but he says not this time. Cole and Jones then enact another plan to steal an atom cell from the 2043 machine in order to power theirs. It explains why back then their core had been so drained because their future selves had used it and then taken a part. Jones tells Cole to wait until the core is offline before going in. As he makes his way to the core he runs into Ramse and the other man asks him what’s wrong.

This is an intense moment for Cole and us the viewers because his best friend currently is clueless about all the craziness that will happen to them, eventually leading to their showdown. He asks Ramse what if they just keep trying to do the right things the wrong way over and over again. The other ex-scav answers that there is no right or wrong, good or bad. You just have to do what matters in the moment. Cole says that he’s trying really hard to forgive himself but he doesn’t know if he can. Ramse tells him to stop trying because only the dead can forgive and that you need to give them a reason to absolve you. The original time traveler is finally gets unload of some of the guilt he’s been carrying over the death of his bff. Before heading off, Ramse states him that he’s going to be ok. Thanks guys I am now a puddle of tears over here.

Cole is able to grab the atom cell after Jones powers down the core. She runs into Whitley in the splinter room and this time she is able to say her own goodbyes to him. She says that she may never say it but she’s grateful for everything he’s done and everything he will do. Whitley is clearly kind of weirded out by this and so excuses himself to look for Ramse. As 2046 Cole and Jones watch their past selves from above the machine, the scientist asks him to promise her that they’ll see this through to the end. He promises.

Jennifer Loses Something Important

In 2018, an Interpol agent (played by Game of Thrones’ Conleth Hill!) has been tasked to find Jennifer and retrieve the missing ouroboros artifact. Ms. Goines in the meantime has been talking to her imaginary cooler self. We discover however that for an unknown reason she no longer is able to hear the voices of the other primaries. This frustrates her to no end because she doesn’t know how to solve the ouroboros puzzle. Not only that but being primary is such an intrinsic part of who she is that it is completely understandable that she would freak out when the visions and voices vanished. Sadly though, even pink haired Jennifer is about to go away as she tells her other self to get out of there because it’s too dangerous. Understandably the ex-primary is freaking out because the imaginary person is all she has left. But the other her says that she doesn’t need the voices anymore because she’s got herself. Her last piece of advice to Jennifer is to not forget her passport, which of course she does in her mad dash out of the building with the police arriving. The Interpol agent catches up to her at the train station and asks her where James Cole is. She takes a cue from pink hair Jennifer and does something totally gutsy and irrationally rational by falling in front of a moving train.

Let’s Meet 1971 Olivia

Meanwhile back at Titan in 2046, Olivia deals with some of her followers doubting her capacity as The Witness because she isn’t primary while Athan Cole was. Olivia decides that paradoxing is not the answer for the red forest and needs a more permanent solution. As she speaks to another minion, she espouses how she understands all the instructions she must give to ensure this cycle except for one, the very first one she gave herself in 1971.

Speaking of which, 1971 Olivia seems to be on the run from her mother and the Army of the 12 Monkeys. She finds help from another young woman and together they live in an abandoned building, stealing and doing what they must to survive. Her mom soon finds her hideout though and she’s forced to run away only to be picked up by the police. In the meantime, Cassie is stalking her, trying to ascertain the right opportunity to use her sniper rifle. Just when she seems to have an open shot, she is fired on herself and ends up in jail too. Guess who’s in the cell next to her? Olivia naturally. The virologist soon discovers though that the other woman is pregnant and she is unable to fulfill her original plan. As the two talk, Cassie empathizes when Olivia says that her mother wants something for her child that she doesn’t. Apparently, she is also supposed to make a terrible choice. The doctor reveals that she knows about the Army of the 12 Monkeys, what their capable off, and what Olivia is capable off.

We then see the young woman’s branding ceremony and when she first speaks to The Witness. After ingesting the red tea Olivia walks through the red forest and enters the house of cedar and pine. There she is told that she has a purpose and that she will have a child for their leader. When her younger self asks why, The Witness responds with the word sacrifice. After sharing her story, Cassie feels compelled to help her.

But all is not what it seems whenever it comes to Olivia and as Cassie goes to find the other woman and her mom, we learn the truth behind the pregnancy. Dr. Railly confronts Mantis (also known as Vivian Rutledge and one of the 12 Messengers) and she tells the virologist that she didn’t want Olivia to give up her child for The Witness and she was trying to protect them both. It had been Olivia who questioned her mother’s faith in their leader then purposely ran away from home to get herself knocked up.

Deacon Has Nine Lives

The ScavKing really has nine lives because this dude survived having a whole building collapsed on top of him. He is taken to Titan where he reveals to Olivia that he isn’t lucky but got left behind, revealing to The Witness of course that Team Splinter survives to fight another day. Now it makes sense to Olivia why she met Cassie in 1971. She has Deacon beat up but he doesn’t actually know or care where the others are.

Jennifer and Cole Reunite

Back in 2018, Jennifer is saved by future a-hole Cole, but forgets the ouroboros artifact which is now with the Interpol agent. This Cole appears to be using Athan’s splinter vest (Jennifer notices the bullet hole) and does this mean we’ll still see the other primary before the end of the series? Here’s hoping! He tells Ms. Goines that she needs to reunite with her Cole who’ll be at the Charles Bridge tomorrow at sunrise. Lastly, he asks her to buy the guy a cheeseburger.

True to form, she gets 2046 Cole a cheeseburger the next morning and they catch up. He explains Cassie’s revenge mission in 1971 and says he didn’t go with his lady love because he had to find her and discover the meaning behind her drawing. Jennifer explains that she and Athan kept seeing this image and hearing tons of voices. Then she found the ouroboros puzzle but left it behind. After nineteen tries they finally find the right Interpol agent Barnum and he tells Cole for them to meet him at the beginning. So they rendezvous with the law enforcement officer back at the museum. Surprisingly the dude turns out to be one of the good guys! He is a descendant of the female primary from medieval times and his family had passed on a story from generation to generation about the end times and the man who they believed could save it. The Interpol agent then gives the artifact to Cole. Time Jesus is able to solve it by remembering the story his mother told him about the serpent and the demon. Once he unlocks the object they find a hidden note that said, “Blackleaf May 11, 1852.”

Olivia Becomes Primary

Meanwhile at Titan, Olivia discovers from Deacon that Team Splinter is still alive and she bids Mallick to find them. He however throws back the question of how. If she’s The Witness she should know how to find them. Olivia decides to take some red tea and ask her future self how she is supposed to lead the Army of the 12 Monkeys when she cannot see the path. The other woman says that only primaries can see the path from above and that even though they weren’t born with the gift, they would acquire it. Titan it seems has another purpose. She uses technology within the structure to open her mind to the time stream and likely because of her own unique genetic structure she survives. One of her chief minions also hooks up substantial life support systems and modifies the plague masque for it. This happens to be the same mask the future Olivia wore when the two women chatted in the house of cedar and pine. 2046 Olivia does indeed bare witness and realizes that Titan is incomplete. It has an even greater objective – creating the red forest via a huge explosion. She now knows what steps they need to take.

One of these steps includes jumping back into her body in 1971 to chat with her mother and Cassie. She tells the two women how the future she sought was given to her in the past. It was Dr. Railly telling her that her child should have purpose and so it would. She goads the other time traveler to take a shot at her as she was meant too and when Cassie does Mantis steps to block her daughter. As more minions arrive, the virologist tells Olivia that she’s coming for her with The Witness saying that she’s counting on it.

Going back to 2046, Olivia has Deacon brought to her along with Mallick and other henchmen. She ends up killing her once ally and offers the ScavKing his position, preying on his vengeful heart to hunt down Team Splinter.

We then see that 1971 Olivia carried out the order of her future self and left her baby in the woods. The child was then picked up by The Witness. 2046 Olivia now made certain to ensure her own creation and the unbreakable cycle so that at the end Titan’s true purpose could be completed and the red forest would come. She then burns the word of The Witness because hey she knows better than that!

Final Thoughts

Who does Olivia’s baby turn out to be? Could it possibly be Cole’s mom?

Will we find out why Jennifer loses her primary-ness?

I still need to know who the dead body (Annapurna Remains) was from season one.

It was so nice to see all the people from Team Splinter alive again even for a short while. Especially Ramse and Eckland!

We circled back to the beginning (aka season 1) and it’s freaking BRILLIANT to see those scenes from a totally different perspective.

]]>https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-s4-episodes-1-3-review-the-end-begins/123/feed224338’12 Monkeys’ S3 Episodes 301-304 Review: Witness The Beginninghttps://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-s3-episodes-301-304-review-witness-beginning/123
https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-s3-episodes-301-304-review-witness-beginning/123#respondSat, 20 May 2017 03:00:27 +0000http://www.theworkprint.com/?p=21056Spoilers through season 3, episodes 1-4 of 12 Monkeys 12 Monkeys season three picks up with Cole scouring the world in 2163, planting beacons in an attempt to get any whiff of Titan’s temporal signature in order to find Dr. Cassandra Railly. At the end of the last season, the gambit to go to Titan …

12 Monkeys season three picks up with Cole scouring the world in 2163, planting beacons in an attempt to get any whiff of Titan’s temporal signature in order to find Dr. Cassandra Railly. At the end of the last season, the gambit to go to Titan and kill the Witness had been a trap to get Cassie to the facility as she is carrying the child who would grow up to be the leader of the 12 Monkeys one day.

Cole is determined to locate his ladylove even though Jones and the others argue that it’s a lost cause and he needs to let it go and focus on the mission (to discover Titan’s true purpose and stop the Witness). To the chrononaut however it’s the same thing. He begs Jones to let him do this because the last beacon he placed picked up something and if there’s any chance whatsoever he’s going to take it. The scientist reluctantly agrees but says that Hannah must go with him.

Cole and Hannah splinter to 2163 and are able to locate the beacon but the battery appears to be dead. She is ready to go back but he refuses to and just as they get into an argument, the instrument lights up again and begins to omit a sound. Looks like it’s locked onto Titan’s signature and Cole is ready to go follow it. Unfortunately his companion thinks they need to go back to the facility and formulate a real plan, but he insists that it’s just going to disappear again if he doesn’t chase it now. The two fight and he manages to stab her with the instant tether splintering her back to their present. Using the beacon, he is able to find Titan at last, taking him one step closer to Cassie.

Our first look of the doctor is inside her room that is covered with red foliage within the time traveling city. She is dressed in a red dress and is very pregnant. Cassie is urged to eat by a kind handmaiden who has been raised in Titan. Then we meet the formidable 12 Monkeys sister, Magdalena, played by the talented Hannah Waddingham, whom many may know as Septa Unella from Game of Thrones. She is a terribly imposing figure who tells Cassie that she should be honored that the Witness chose her as his vessel. They also have a creepy conversation on how the mother isn’t just the person giving birth to the child but the one who gives comfort and love. Well that isn’t foreboding at all.

Meanwhile Cole is running through a forest to reach Titan when a mysterious man appears in front of him (with his face covered) wearing a strange looking vest that lights up. They begin to battle and just as Cole is about to punch the other dude the guy vanishes only to reappear behind. More punches are thrown and the time traveller is able to kick mysterious man in the nuts and who then disappears again.

Back at Titan, Pallid Man is made aware that Cole is nearby and so he is forced to change their plans and postpone Cassie’s/Mother’s unveiling. Speaking of which, she is en-route to the Red Theater with her handmaidens when the lead girl Arianne hears the bells tolling indicating that Titan is about to splinter. She instructs that they need to go back to the room and the small group begins to make their way. Seizing the moment, Cassie uses a butterfly hair pin and stabs two of the girls and then pleads with Arianne to help her get home and she promised that she would also help her get back to her family. The younger woman agrees and shows her an exit. Sadly other members of the 12 Monkeys stand in their way of exiting the facility. But then Cole arrives the two lovers see each other in what probably feels like ages. Just as he is about to barge in to save her, the mysterious vest man appears and he takes Cole with him.

The two men end up at the Emerson, but its overgrown with foliage so it still must be the future. The other man finally reveals himself to be….FUTURE COLE. That’s right, take it all in.

Future Cole: That’s right take it all in. Greetings asshole, I’m future asshole.

The two Coles converse where future Cole tells regular Cole that he needs to find Jennifer because she is the key to saving everything. Locked up inside her brain is the answer to the plague, Titan, Ethan, Jin, The Witness, all of it. Whoopsies, did future Cole just reveal their son’s name? Lastly he tells Cole that he’s going to need to brush up on his French.

Speaking of Jennifer she’s still stuck in 1917 just as the Germans are making their way through the trench she finds herself in. She breaks into 99 Luftballons because that’s the only German she knows and momentarily imagines she’s in a pleasant music video instead of violent World War I. Thankfully her impromptu song prevents the German soldiers from killing her and they determine that she is American and seems crazy AF. Jennifer suddenly gets visions of four people wearing the same vest as future Cole and realizes that everything begins here in the past and that she’s got to tell her friends.

Back at Titan, Cassie finds her way to the upper section of the Red Theater. She is desperate and is ready to do anything to prevent the 12 Monkeys from getting her son. Nearby Magdalena and Mallick try to convince her not to jump, but she makes up her mind that she would rather die with her child than allow him to grow up to be The Witness. As she is falling, Magdalena reveals that she is also wearing a splinter vest and goes back in time to warn her past self of Cassie’s future plans then clicks a button on the device that automatically burns herself to prevent a paradox (and have only one version of Magdalena in existence). Dr. Railly wakes up to find herself back at breakfast with her nose bleeding, since she has Katarina’s injections, time moves around her and she retains knowledge of what happened in the now non-existent future timeline.

At the Emerson, the Coles are still chatting and future Cole says that this is going to be a long fight and he’s only half way there. He also tells past him that he’s going to have to forgive himself for what he’s done and what he’s going to have to do. Ominous much? Future Cole also explains that he wears Cassie’s watch because somehow somewhere it means that he’ll always find his way back to her. Lastly he gives past Cole an article showing that Jennifer is in 1922. As the other him goes back in time, an older Cassie appears and sits down next to her counterpart and says that he knows there’s another way. However, future Cole argues that no there isn’t. Now what could that be all about?

In 2044 Cole tells Jones that they need to find Jennifer and that he knows Cassie is not the mission.

At Titan, four months after Cassie’s attempted escape, she is in a bathtub while in labor surrounded by 12 Monkeys senior members. Magdalena channels Septa Unella but instead of saying shame, she’s saying push, push, push! For a split second Cassie sees the grown up Witness behind the devote woman telling her to push as well. Then we hear the cries of a newly born baby.

Episode 302: Guardians

The episode opens with the four horsemen (wearing their bowler hats) appearing in 1921 Paris carrying between them a steel container with Titan’s symbol emblazoned on top. Meanwhile Jennifer is still stuck there as well, trying to send a message to Team Splinter on her time and location so that they can come get her. She ends up convincing a theater owner to let her perform her fantastical one-man plays to entertain Parisians. She performs Charlie Chaplin, E.T., Alien, and Jaws. Finally in 1922 she does a play on the saga of the 12 Monkeys, except it doesn’t do so well with the crowds and the theater manager refuses to let her continue.

She’s understandably pissed because the play needs to be a hit so that it can get recorded in history books, which will then be big enough of a beacon for Cole and the others to get her. Unfortunately, one of the four horsemen finds her instead and he says that she’s not supposed to be here. Jennifer retorts neither should he and collapses a bunch of boxes onto him before running out of her dressing room. Thankfully, Jones and Cole arrive in the nick of time, shooting the man before he can stab her.

The three catch up on what’s been going on where Jennifer explains that she’s been stuck in Paris for five years and she can’t believe that it’s taken them this long to find her. Cole only appears to be interested in finding out what info she has on Titan, Cassie, and Ramse and completely disregards her well being since he didn’t even ask her how she survived World War I. Jennifer explains to Jones that she had to use a pseudonym because she didn’t want the horsemen to find her. Speaking of him, the scientist examines the vest and determines that it is splinter technology and something very important must be happening to the 12 Monkeys for them to send these four to this time.

That would of course be the birth of their prophet The Witness at long last. Cassie wakes up in bed having been sedated and her child gone. Mallick (played by Faran Tahir) enters and agrees to take her to see her son. He leads her to a chamber that is an omage to The Witness. The plague doctor mask is on a pedestal at the center with other objects circling it in the room, including a gramophone, a grandfather clock, the word of The Witness (that we’ve seen a bunch of times before), and a pocket watch that disappears all of a sudden once Cassie and Mallick have their backs turned. The man tries to convince her that she must love the man her son is going to become although he then reveals that he’s offering his help to her. Apparently there are some divisions in the Monkey ranks and Mallick says that he’ll aid her escape when the time is right because otherwise if she stays she’ll be killed now that the witness is no longer inside her. She agrees to accept his help but pleads to see her child still even just for a moment. He nods and tells her to follow him.

We skip to 2046 where Ramse is still with Olivia. They are sitting around a fire pit where Ramse is complaining that he wants to leave at night but the former 12 Monkeys leader says that they are in the territory of a group called the Exiles who operate in the dark and they don’t have the numbers to take them. We find out that Olivia found Sam 23 years ago and that Ramse is supposed to be reunited with him at long last tomorrow. They had been traveling cross-country in order to do this but he’s lost patience with all of her delays. When they finally arrive at the camp, the see the aftermath of a battle with the army of the 12 Monkeys and Sam has been critically injured. Olivia sees a knife stabbed on a treat with a note on it, as she reads it her face looks alarmed. Could she be in cahoots with Mallick and he just sent her word about the Witness’s birth (since we don’t know what year exactly Titan was at when Cassie went into labor).

Sam indeed has grown up but is laying in a cot with terrible injuries. He recognizes his father and tells him that Ramse will always be ageless to him. The son tells his dad that they’ve both outlived their cycles and that he was where he was meant to be. Olivia couldn’t bring him to Ramse in 2023 because he was only nineteen years old and would have been a burden. The older man tells him that he can go back to Jones and undo this but Sam doesn’t want him to do that and explains that they weren’t meant to be this. He wants his dad to save him and the world by stopping The Witness. Ramse agrees and then his kid pleads for help to end his life. Way to stick a knife in my chest because this is such a heartbreaking scene. Kirk Acevedo is slaying so hard and is acting the hell out of this. Ramse keeps saying he can’t do it but Sam asks his dad to please make the pain stop and the other man is undone. He gently puts his hands on his son’s mouth and nose and suffocates him to death. My heart is just dying because Ramse had been driven to protect and save his son for so long and now he has to be the one to end his life due to tragic circumstances. This may foreshadow similar circumstances that Cassie and Cole will have to endure with their own child.

Returning to 1922, Jennifer (who’s split up from Jones and Cole) follow one of the four horsemen into a building where her other two compatriots also find themselves at via the ID on the dead 12 Monkeys member. Jones and Cole are flanked in the hallway with two of the other horsemen with their guns drawn but Jennifer appears to cause a distraction and Team Splinter is able to fire their shots before the monkeys, though both Jones and Cole get hit (in the shoulder and leg respectively). Cole goes inside the apartment to find the last horsemen and to get the Titan box.

At the same time, we see scenes from Titan where Mallick leads Cassie back to the Red Theater where a different ritual is being enacted. We discover that Magdalena is leading the four horsemen and it is her son that is being carried in the box. The Witness is being transported back to different time periods as he grows up so that he will be safe. This is what Magdalena meant when she was telling Cassie that she wasn’t really The Witness’s mother because she Magdalena is the one who will actually raise him. Cue the horrified screams!

Upon coming closer to the box Cole gets shot by Magdalena, the woman telling him that he isn’t going to die today and she then goes back in time to warn her past self that Team Splinter will find them and that they must now change their plans. The timeline gets reset with Cole and Jones finding themselves back at their starting point a day ago. This time Cole greets Jennifer properly and tells her that he needs her and that there are here to take her home.

At the facility debrief Jones explains to Adler, Lasky and the other scientists what happened and what they are up against, but it doesn’t seem like they’ve made the connection that the child the horsemen were guarding is The Witness. Katarina simply thinks that it’s a weapon based on Jennifer’s prophesy. Jones leaves the decision of sending Ms. Goines back to 2016 or having her stay with them up to him, however he decides that it should really be Jennifer’s choice. He asks her what she wants to do and of course she chooses to stay and be a part of the team. She also says that she knows how they can find Cassie and takes his hand up to the splinter machine’s light, asking if he can feel his ladylove. But then a perimeter breech alarm goes off and Cole goes to join Whitley to see what’s going on. And well look who’s arrived, its Ramse with Olivia as prisoner.

Episode 303: Enemy

Jones brings up a good point that they don’t know which Ramse they are currently facing. Is it the grieving father, the loyal brother, or the man who spent decades taking orders from Olivia. The two are allowed into the facility with Ramse taken to one of the confinement rooms and a new cell built for Olivia. Jennifer warns that the other woman is a chameleon and she is would never be somewhere she didn’t want to be at.

The scientist first meets with Ramse to try and figure out what his game is. He tells her that he’s hand delivered their enemy’s enemy and explained that Olivia broke off with the 12 Monkeys in 2016 and they’ve been after each other ever since. He also relays Sam’s death and that all he wants is to get The Witness. While the emotions are certainly genuine, this could be a tactic of Ramse’s to distract Jones from what he and Olivia are planning given that she is a mother herself and understands his pain. However he points out that she got her daughter back while he’s lost his son twice.

Meanwhile Cole goes to see Olivia and their conversation is an interesting one. Cole keeps asking her where Titan is but she knows that he is wants information on Cassie’s location. Olivia then goes into a rant about how they left her behind to be fed to The Witness and she believed his lies about a world without pain only to be put in another box. She asks him to think about all the times they could have killed him but didn’t and why is that? Cole is super confused but we know its because his genetic material was needed by The Witness duh. In the other room Jones realizes that Olivia was Kirschner’s test subject and tells Adler to get DNA samples from her so that they can run tests.

In Titan, we flashback to the last scene with Deacon and Jennifer as he apologizes for killing her and then tells her to run while he valiantly takes on the enemy. Amazingly, the ScavKing SURVIVES yet again. This guy must have nine lives because he has been severely beaten so many times. Deacon deserves a raise folks for sheer will to survive. Mallick rescues him and stitches his wounds up, saying that he is a secret being kept from friends and enemies alike. You know that this is somehow got to be a part of his plan to help Cassie in some way. ScavKing is being kept in a secret room and fed little, but slowly he begins to regain his strength. However, he also is hallucinating and talking to his dead father who is a complete douchebag.

In 2046, Jones herself goes to talk to Olivia and the other woman finally says that she wants to go back to a time where she is free of both The Witness and them. In exchange she will give them The Witness. Jones isn’t just going to say yes though and asks why she left the 12 Monkeys. Olivia responds that she was lied to and that’s the reason she parted ways with them. She pushes the scientist too far by taunting her that Hannah has found another mother and that she was more interested in building the time machine than her own daughter. In retaliation Jones puts her in the machine, using it as a torture device. However, this does not break Olivia and Hannah intervenes by putting a knife against Lasky. As the mother and daughter argue Cole takes matters into his own hands and asks the scientists for the coldest darkest room they’ve got. He and Olivia go back in time to three months ago and leaves her in the room returning to their present. Cole and Jones go downstairs and find Olivia there (who has eaten rats to survive) and the former 12 Monkeys member seems broken enough to tell them about The Witness now. Hannah tells her mother that she knows she’s more than the horrible stories she’s heard about her and it prompts the scientist to show Olivia compassion by cleaning the blood from her.

Ramse in the meantime gets two visitors. First Jennifer comes by and gives him two of Sam’s old toys and tells him that she’s sorry for his son’s death, leading him to tell her that you’ve got to be a little crazy to be human. Finally Cole comes and the two hug it out.

Olivia tells them that the horsemen are teachers and protectors meant to raise The Witness in the chaos of history. She also confirms that they can’t win against them because everything they do the four can undo. Olivia continues by saying that they can only stop The Witness in the past. They will have a single chance when he will be most vulnerable and only she can tell them when and where.

Ramse and Cole end up at their usual outdoor spot to chat about whether they can trust Olivia’s intel. Ramse argues that all they’ve got is the lie and that if there’s a chance they can end it they should take it. It’s one last ride back to 2007 where they will face their enemy who will supposedly be surrounded by many followers. This heart to heart is much like many others they’ve had but this time Jose says no matter what future happens James will always be his family. Despite the many ups and downs they’ve gone through, the two genuinely love each other and it’s just been a tragedy that they’ve had to be on opposite sides because of their love for other people. Love is a powerful thing.

Jennifer tries to warn Cole that she’s getting a bad feeling with his and Ramse’s mission and that he shouldn’t go. We flashback to Olivia and Ramse’s conversation before they arrive at the facility and she explains that Cole and Cassie are the parents of the Witness. He says that for their plan to work she will need to take a beating and she said she’ll manage it. So it was all orchestrated and well acted. Their true goal is to go back in time to kill Dr. Railly.

In 2163, Deacon’s conversations with dead dad is proving cathartic for him as he is able to face his innermost demon and admit all the things he has hated in his life. We find out that a part of him believes that the only reason he’s survived is because of the horrible things his father did to him and his family that’s toughened him up. Deacon is also finally let go the fear that he’s become his old man and he has not climbed up the ranks to be my new favorite character on the show. As the figment of his imagination disappears, a very real Mallick enters and tells him that it’s time. He follows a set of directions provided to him by the 12 Monkeys elder and kills two guards posted outside a nondescript door. Inside he finds Cassie who is relieved to see a familiar face and they proceed to get out of dodge.

Episode 304: Brothers

Episode four begins with a flashback to young Cole and Ramse scavenging for food. James looks to be 12 or 13 and Jose around 16 or 17. They come upon a library that looks abandoned, the older boy wants to wait until morning to check it out but the other is starving and wants to scope it out now. Headstrong as always, Cole goes ahead and approaches the front door of the building only to be suddenly grabbed by another plague survivor hiding inside a minivan. Beware minivans ladies and gentlemen.

We cut to the Emerson in 2007, the two men are having a drink and Cole can’t help but feel that this is too easy. He asks Ramse why Olivia would betray the monkeys when she’s been with them her whole life and is the reason why she even has a life. The other man reasserts though that they took everything from her and that’s why she’s against them now. Still Cole isn’t fully convinced and rightfully so. Unfortunately he’s trusting Jose to tell him that this isn’t a set up since he ought to know having spent all those years with Olivia himself.

In 2046, Jennifer is asleep on the machine chair dreaming about churches and dead bodies. Adler rudely wakes up her, stating that this room is not a dormitory. But being near the machine helps her see through time and space! Instead of going back to sleep, she begins to sketch a number of different images: an ouroboros, hands, feet, and a dead body facing down. She falls asleep again and gets woken up by Jones instead, who is annoyed that her evidence room now closely resembles a portrait studio. The scientist asks who the image of the dead person is but unfortunately the primary has no idea.

She takes another nap and this time she sees Cassie and Cole’s faces on the dead bodies, which prompts her to talk to Olivia. Jennifer confronts the other woman, saying that she stabbed her and pushed her into a pool but she didn’t break and then all of a sudden three months in a dark room and she breaks wide open. The primary rightfully claims that she thinks Olivia is unbreakable and this makes her uncomfortable. Of course she pins the tail on the donkey that because of the former 12 Monkeys member, Cole is on a mission and she’s suddenly getting nightmares of someone dying. She gets her daughters to point their guns at Olivia while she deactivates the electricity and goes inside the pen, asking the other woman to tell her a story to make the bad dreams go away. However, Olivia is still unwilling to give her any answers. Frustrated, Jennifer calls her out on her BS, knowing that there are always plans within plans and lies to cover other lies. Triggered, Pallid Man’s sister lunges at the primary, saying that they couldn’t all be like her. That’s when Jennifer remembers the map. She realizes that Olivia is scared that if the mission fails, the word of The Witness is her one bargaining chip because it contains the entire timeline of her former leader.

Changing gears to 2007, Cole and Ramse look for the dad of an old West VII buddy for some firepower. Back then the man Otero was a gunrunner and had operated his business behind a bakery. The plan is simple, ambush the gunrunners as they are loading up a truck full of weapons, except of course that doesn’t quite work out. They end up having their backs against one side of the truck with the goons on the other side. Ramse says that if things go wrong they should meet up at the Emerson. Cole nods and takes out two of the men but them the other time traveller is nowhere to be seen. Where oh where could he have gone?

Cole heads back to their room at the Emerson but its empty. His buddy is at a hospital, waiting for Cassie to show up so that he can kill her. Posing as an ER admin, he makes a call to have her paged and sent down to help see to patients. We see a blonde haired doctor come down to talk to another attendee though we never glimpse her face. Ramse tries to edge his way closer to her but two cops enter the ER and he tries not to look suspicious, which is a pretty hard thing to do since most people in there are actually supposed to be there. Blondie goes into a restricted area but luckily for him another staffer opens the door and he is able to slip in unnoticed. He stalks the doctor down the corridor and then shoots her in the back twice. Except it’s not Cassie. Well damn, he just committed murder and it wasn’t even the right person.

Upon returning to the Emerson, Ramse tells Cole a weak ass story about how he was chasing the other guy, they get into a scuffle and then he got lost. Riiiiight. But unexpectedly the other time traveller thinks that he went to go see his mother. Going with it, Ramse says that his mom didn’t say anything because he never went in. Just being close enough to knock on the door was good enough. Pouncing on this line of thought, he tells Cole that he should go spend a couple of hours to go see Cassie. Preying on the other man’s feelings, he attempts to use it to discover Dr. Railly’s location since the hospital plan backfired. Cole puts it out of his mind though explaining that she has enough to deal with at the moment since in the winter of ’07 there was an outbreak at a community center in New Jersey. He goes as far as naming the actual place and Ramse drops the issue having gotten the intel he needed.

Sometime later, he tells Cole that he’s having doubts and that this very well could be a trap. He suggests that he gets dropped off some distance from the compound (where The Witness will be) and he’ll check it out on foot. If he’s ambushed he’ll fire two shots so that Cole can come as backup. When night hits they drive over and as they are at the rest stop, James asks if Ramse is sure he wants to do this. By this he means splitting up, to which the other chrononaut responds that it’s the only way and it’s about time they set things straight. As Cole drives away, he steals another car and heads over to the community center.

Once he gets there all seems quiet and the door is locked. A familiar voice behind him says she’s not coming and toss it (the gun). Cole tells Ramse that he gave chance after chance for him to come clean with the truth but he never did. Turns out that the community center was the place Ramse had saved him when they were boys from the earlier flashback. But the other man says that he never noticed the sign because he was too busy saving Cole’s life yet again. That time had also been when Ramse had first called him brother. This moment between the two get even more intense as James finally finds out that he is the father of The Witness and that his friend came back to kill Cassie so that she would never give birth to their child.

Ramse asks Cole to let him kill his woman to save seven billion lives but of course he says hell no. The other man gets a shot out and they chase each other through the woods. It begins to snow and the scene jumps from 2007 to 2027 where in both moments they are running through the same woods. Eventually Cole is able to shoot the other in the shoulder and yells for him to stop but he keeps going. This has happened before and James has never been able to mortally wound his brother because of their history. However this time he fires two more rounds and Ramse goes down. Bleeding out, he tells Cole that they always try to do the right thing but end up doing in the wrong way. His finals words are don’t undo this, that his brother is now on his own and that they’ll see each other soon. Ugh this is what future Cole meant when he said that he had to forgive himself.

In grief, Cole drives to Virginia where 2007 Cassie currently is and in a parking lot he says to her that he knows he shouldn’t be here but he doesn’t think he can do this alone and that he needs her to come home. But they haven’t met yet and so she has no idea who he is. Altruistic as ever, she tells him that she’s going to get him some help but he is pulled back to 2046. Arriving back in the facility pissed as all hell, he goes into Olivia’s pen and puts a gun to her temple. She calmly tells him though that he needs her to find his son and that his secret was safe with her.

Back at Titan, Deacon and Cassie are making their way to an exit and ScavKing explains that Mallick gave him directions for them to get out of there. Amazingly too, he’s the one who knows that they are currently in 2047 and that the compound is going to splinter soon. Their secret helper and Pallid Man find the dead guards in Cassie’s room and PM orders him to find Dr. Railly. The twosome nearly make it to the exit but are barred by more guards posted. Just as Titan’s ominous bells begin to toll, they attack and Cassie is vicious. They manage to kill all of the sentinels when Mallick himself appears with two more. But he ends up stabbing both his guys and tells them to go. Before letting Cassie leave though, he grabs her arms and says to find her son. What does he know that we don’t?? The two jump out just in time.

Pallid Man ponders his options and he reveals that there is indeed unrest amongst their people. He considers splintering back to prevent Cassie’s escape but Mallick suggests that altering Titan’s timeline could have serious consequences. Besides, The Witness is to return to them soon and that they should focus everyone’s attention on that and not let it be known of the Mother’s disappearance. PM eventually agrees though then says that he must get rid of everyone who handled her imprisonment, except for Mallick of course. Me thinks M needs to start considering his own options.

Cassie and Deacon make their way back to the facility to find it completely destroyed. This is not good. With a stroke of luck though, the ScavKing notices an image of a red butterfly painted on a concrete slab that wasn’t there before. Cassie thinks it’s a sign (because Cole gave her a butterfly) and begins to dig around the area, believe that she was meant to find something. Indeed they unearth a kit with two tether injections to take them back.

As they return to 2046, Deacon arrives first followed by Cassie who is greeted by Cole (himself just fresh from 2007). They hug and as they stare into the other’s eyes, he tries to tell her that he knows without speaking the words. She nods, understanding that he at last knows the truth behind The Witness as well.

Final Thoughts

Is Ramse truly dead? But there have been so many near deaths that he’s got to make to the fourth season somehow.

Cole and Ramse’s relationship has gone through so many ups and downs that it’s so sad it had to end this way (or maybe its really not the end yet!)

If the Witness is killed wouldn’t Olivia’s own existence be erased? Doesn’t she care anymore about that?

Magdalena is one scary villain, if she continues to raise the Witness no wonder he is as diabolical as he seems to be.

What do all the other 12 Monkeys minion do in Titan? It’s kind of like the Death Star except a time machine.

What is Olivia’s real game? Why does she want to be at the facility? Jennifer’s right that she’s always exactly where she wants to be.

The second night of the season 3 12 Monkeys binge event continues tomorrow May 20. Until then!

]]>https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-s3-episodes-301-304-review-witness-beginning/123/feed021056’12 Monkeys’ Season 2 Finale Finally Reveals The Witnesshttps://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-season-2-finale-finally-reveals-witness/123
https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-season-2-finale-finally-reveals-witness/123#commentsTue, 19 Jul 2016 02:00:46 +0000http://www.theworkprint.com/?p=17704In the ultimate cliffhanger of 12 Monkeys, the identity of the mysterious Witness is finally revealed and it’s a twist worthy of the intense build up throughout the show's first two seasons.

In the ultimate cliffhanger episode of 12 Monkeys, the identity of the mysterious Witness is finally revealed and it’s a twist worthy of the intense build up throughout the show’s first two seasons.

With Cole and Cassie unable to stop the final paradox, Team Revenge failing and dying at Titan, and Jones and the splinter machine destroyed by the time storm, it seems that the Army of the 12 Monkeys have won the day and all is lost. Or is it?

C and C appear to be stranded in 1959, but are now living as a couple within the house of cedar and pine and we discover that Christmas, Dr. Railly has become pregnant. Cole is shocked as he never expected to become a father given everything they’ve gone through. It’s a bit of a doozy to wonder what kind of future his child will have. Except of course, we find out one possibility by the end of this episode.

Strange things start happening. Time stops while Cole is at a local store and he sees a strange woman telling him that it’s not over. She then vanishes as everything begins to move again. When it happens a second time, the time traveler comes upon St. Mary’s Mercy, an asylum for the insane. Well that is a big clue if I ever saw one because Cole is about to meet another primary. Let’s bring her on shall we?

He enters the facility and gives the description of the woman he saw, adding the detail that she had slashed her wrist. The sister at the reception desk realizes that he’s looking for a woman named Lillian who has been there for at least 34 years (the nun has been there 17 and the patient twice that long) and Cole is her very first visitor ever. FYI, she also killed her entire family and was diagnosed as having schizophrenic hallucinations.

The amazingly talented Madeleine Stowe, who played Dr. Kathryn Railly in the 1995 film version of 12 Monkeys, plays Lillian. Having her this season is a wonderful homage to the original work. (If they can get Bruce Willis to do a cameo next season I will be jumping up and down with happiness). Also how did the character get that amazing red dress while stuck inside an insane asylum? Don’t they all have to wear medical gowns as patients?

Lillian confirms that Ramse, Team Revenge, and the Daughters failed their mission to stop the Witness at Titan. Interestingly enough she also says that the only person who can see what is really happening to time is the Witness, Cole is blind to it at the moment. She tells him that 2044, 2016, 1975 are all gone and their year is up next. Lillian bids him to go to Pine Barren and see what he finds there then come back to her.

Sure enough, he drives out there and sees trees with red leaves, anomalies popping up left and right, and a massive storm behind it. He takes some of the red leaves and brings it back to Lillian. Sprouting imagery from Alice and Wonderland, the primary implores him to go down the rabbit hole, puts the foliage in his hand, and instructs him to drink me. See, he doesn’t need a time machine to go back in time, he just needs red tea. When he drinks it, his mind will be un-tethered and he must find the him in 1957 to stop the paradox from happening. But the catch is that if he undoes the paradox, everything that’s happened will be erased. Cole doesn’t want to lose the relationship he has now with Cassie and their unborn child, but Lillian throws out that some happiness is better than a lifetime of anything else.

Lillian: Death can be undone James, love cannot.

She warns him that if he’s able to stop the paradox and return to his time, he should under no circumstances go to Titan to save his brother because only an army awaits him there. It would be a continuation of a cycle that never ends and everything lost would be in vain. So it sounds like going to Titan is never a good idea. Right.

When he gets back to the house, Cassie is waiting for him asking what’s going on because he didn’t show up at work and he’s been in a funk since he found out that he was going to be dad. She thinks that this is all too much too soon but Cole assures her that he wants what they have more than he’s ever wanted anything before. I wonder if he now has more empathy for Ramse and the lengths a man would do to protect his family. Still he decides to time travel via the red tea. Beforehand though, he takes a piece of charcoal from the fireplace and writes down the all too familiar words on the wall, 1957-1959 THIS WAS HOME. Cue the ominous music because big crap is about to go down y’all.

Cole makes the hard choice and drinks the red tea. He first goes to a place out of time, where the house of cedar and pine is constantly being built and torn down. Then he sees the 2044 facility and heads inside and after that he goes all the way back to season 1 episode 1 where he’s waiting for Cassie in the back seat of her car. When he jumps out of his past body, he returns to the facility floating in out of time and the Witness appears to be there lurking in the shadows.

We get more scenes from season 1: when he first met Jennifer, when Ramse first asks him about Cassie, the Night Room, and the fancy party where he meets Leland Goines. Then we get to this season: 2022’s groundhog day and finally to the scene where he pulls a gun on Reggie.

Cole runs to the factory floor and is able to apprehend Melinda with Cassie before Charlie arrives. The other man tries to appeal to the time traveler, that he loves the primary and if he performs the paradox they can be together where time doesn’t exist. The Messenger says that he doesn’t understand but he really does. He looks at Cassie and says goodbye before shooting Charlie multiple times immediately causing time to shift and in 2044, the machine is shown to be operating again. Jones had to wait an entire year for their real time tethers to catch up and during that period she learned how to brutally fight and defend her territory but also met a companion, going to show that dogs are man’s best friends truly.

Cassie tells Jones their story and how it took them a long time trying to find the primary and they almost failed, but Cole was able to stop the paradox from happening at the last moment. During this conversation, James is standing apart from them, contemplating all that’s happened and Lillian’s words. Against her warnings he tells the two women about Ramse and Hannah dying at Titan because the Witness somehow knows that they are coming.

Jones determines that they can use the machine to travel to Titan to stop Team Revenge from going through the mission and being ambushed (thanks to Adler’s nearly finished calculations). This round though, the scientist is coming with them because she’s not losing her daughter again. Besides, the machine is pre-programmed to pull them back after 12 hours. But who is going to guard the place eh?? The moment Jones whispers to herself, “initiate splinter sequence” before being sent through the fabric of time and space gave me intense feels. This is her first time to actually use the machine she’s spent so much of her life working on.

The trio arrives at the woods near Titan and are met by the Daughters who lead them back to where Adler and the others are waiting. Cole tells them that their comrades are walking into a trap and to have a shot at saving their comrades they need the Daughters to come with them. Ms. Goines is put in another uncomfortable spot as she somehow must inspire the ladies to follow her once again. She borrows from Mel Gibson’s famous Braveheart speech and at first it seems to be working until she tosses in some Independence Day and loses the crowd.

She says screw it and decides to just fight by herself when one of her Daughters asks if she’s really willing to risk her life for Ramse and company and Jennifer answers yes. She didn’t know what old her taught them but obviously she forgot the most important lesson, be excellent to each other. Hah! This weirdly enough brings a change of heart in the Daughters.

At Titan, a familiar scene begins to play out as Ramse comes upon the hooded figure on the stage carved with symbols and yells for him to take the mask. On cue, other members of the 12 Monkeys rush out and surround them. As Whitley, Deacon, and Hannah are about to be killed, shots are fired and Cole comes to the rescue with the cavalry. As the fight ensues Hannah is in full on beast mode, taking down multiple opponents. Soon enough though she is reunited with Jones and they share a tender mother-daughter hug.

As Ramse is questioning the 12 Monkeys survivors on the location of the Witness, they all repeat the same thing that they’ll never find him and that he is safe. So in anger and frustration, the traveler stabs each one of them. Ramse is unwilling to leave Titan until they locate the mysterious leader because killing him was the only thing driving him forward after the loss of his son. Jennifer and Deacon in the meantime are urging the group of get the hell out but Cole decides they need to stay and find the Witness.

Hannah, Jones, Cole and Cassie group themselves together as they explore the compound and when he comments that it’s weird to see the scientist packing, Dr. Railly responds that not every caterpillar becomes a butterfly. She then stops in her tracks because somehow the memories of their former life come flooding back to her. Cole had given her a butterfly clip, they lived in the house of cedar and pine, and they were in love. He’s amazed that she remembers this because it shouldn’t be possible when a loud noise reverberates all around Titan.

Jones now tells them that they need to get out of here right now. She noticed earlier that the technology in this place was from her husband (Dr. Eliot Jones) and now she realizes that the whole city is a time machine. That is freaking brilliant for the Witness to have up his sleeve. Everyone is trying to find a way out but Ramse has lost everything so he doesn’t care and continues his search. He runs into a 12 Monkeys minion and is about to get into hand-to-hand combat when another masked figure stabs the goon from behind. This person takes his mask off and tells the traveler that there’s no time to explain and to come with him if he wants the Witness.

Whitley’s group makes it all out except Ramse and so Cole goes back inside to get his friend with Cassie following. Uh oh, this is NOT good. Meanwhile Jennifer, Deacon, and 2 Daughters meet a whole gaggle of masked minions and the ScavKing sacrifices himself for Ms. Goines, apologizing for killing her before being killed himself. I was really hoping for a romance between these two but who would have guessed that Deacon was capable of dying for a greater cause. His character’s development was wonderful this season and he will be sorely missed. But then again he might not be dead dead because it’s 12 Monkeys after all.

Jennifer is by herself and ends up shooting another goon before being splintered after getting caught in a beam. Cassie urges Cole that they need to get out there and he finally listens when she asks him to do this for her. But just as the exit is within eyesight, they are ambushed and the doctor is kept in Titan while Cole is kicked out. Oh crap! The whole compound then vanishes.

Ramse is still with this new person dressed as a minion and he is led to some unknown forest location. It seems that they did not splinter with Titan because the time traveler asks what happened to it. To his surprise, he meets Olivia (who the other man is working for). He tells Ramse that none of them are with the Army of the 12 Monkeys anymore. Olivia looks considerably older with grey streaks in her hair but is still very much alive. She says that they are taking him to his son. We finally see that after Sam was splintered to an unknown time, Olivia was somehow right where he was waiting for him. She also looked younger and so the kid must have gone back in time and is now all grown up and probably brainwashed. Now how did Olivia know that Ramse’s son would get sent back? Did the Witness forsee this too?

Meanwhile poor Jennifer has landed in 1917 France during WWI amidst intense fighting in the trenches. She is mistaken for being German and tries to use some rudimentary French, though all she knows to say is, “Can I use your telephone and toilet?”

Jones and Cole are splintered back to the facility but Cassie does not follow. The scientist confirms that they do not have her tether and that Titan has gone even further into the future to 2163. Cole is going after her though because damn the unknown! He’s gotta get his woman back.

In 2163, the truth of the Witness is finally revealed as Cassie is greeted by Pallid Man (who is still alive as well) inside an auditorium full of hooded and masked individuals. At first Dr. Railly thinks that he is the Witness but he says that he’s not. Their leader is far more special than him, James or her, but it was imperative that she be here in Titan. When Cassie asks where he is, PM answers that he’s safe, born to travelers outside of time.

Pallid Man: You brought him here Cassandra. The Witness is here. (Puts her hand on her belly) Mother. The Mother.

Now that we know that the Witness is Cassie and Cole’s unborn child, it is understandable that he is fighting for his very existence because only through certain specific events occurring could he be conceived. It had to be part of his plan for the 1957 paradox to happen, his parents to fall in love and consummate their relationship, and then for Cole to stop the paradox again so that all three of them could go back to the future and for mother and him to go to Titan to be then sent forward in time to 2163. It’s fascinating though that Cassie continued to be pregnant even though the post-paradox version of 1959 technically no longer happened. After an extensive conversation with The Workprint’s Editor-In-Chief (and fellow 12 Monkeys obsessed fan) Bilal Mian, we figured that since time goes around Cassie as a chrononaut, the events from 1959 in the house of cedar and pine always happened to her character and somehow 2nd round 1957 Cassie is the most up to date version of her in the timeline and thus she would be the one pregnant. It seems no matter what, once the Witness is conceived you can’t undo him.

As a progeny of two chrononauts it would make sense that he would have abilities to relating to time since he would have Jones’ injection in his blood inherited from both his parents. Could he time travel without using any red tea or a time machine himself? Is that how he brought Vivian to Dr. Kirschner? Could the Witness access the time stream in the same way as primaries do without the schizophrenic side effects? We already know that he can take over minds via red tea intake but he must be able to do more.

Although the better question really is what is his end game? It’s possible that he only wanted to create the time anomalies up to a point in order to ensure his creation. Phase 1 is the plague, phase 2 kill primaries to create time anomalies, and who knows what phase 3 could be.

It was a brilliant twist though because how can anyone expect a parent to kill his or her own child? That’s insane! And yet when your kid ends up destroying the whole world and time itself just so that he can live what are you gonna do?

Now that Cassie is further into the future at the hands of the Army of the 12 Monkeys and incubating the Witness, are they simply keeping her alive until she gives birth or are there further plans for her? Olivia in the meantime has gone rogue and reunites Ramse with Sam (likely grown up) in 2044 but what is her purpose now? What does she want since she isn’t on Team 12 Monkeys anymore? What is Jennifer going to do stuck in 1917? How will Cole find Cassie and more importantly wtf is he going to do once he finds out his kid is responsible for the apocalypse?

12 Monkeys undoubtedly takes sci-fi to a whole new level in a twisty, mind-bending, emotional roller coaster, and mental Olympics kind of way. There are never any wasted scenes and the narrative this entire season 2 has exceeded my wildest expectations. The story unfolded into a much larger picture and still connected to the arcs in season 1. We saw so many relationships change and grow as well as characters deepening and developing from when we first met them. The show though isn’t just a great science fiction series, it’s fantastic television period. Now the long collective wait for season 3 begins.

We love to hear your theories so let us know what you thought of the season 2 finale below!

]]>https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-season-2-finale-finally-reveals-witness/123/feed617704’12 Monkeys’ Review: The Road to Titanhttps://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-review-road-titan/123
https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-review-road-titan/123#commentsTue, 12 Jul 2016 02:00:07 +0000http://www.theworkprint.com/?p=1758112 Monkeys Season 2, Episode 12: “Blood Washed Away” Air Date: July 11, 2016 12 Monkeys season 2 has been a crazy ride full of new revelations, fascinating primaries, and unexpected twists and turns. Now that we’re at the second to the last episode of the season, our heroes face two missions: Cole and …

12 Monkeysseason 2 has been a crazy ride full of new revelations, fascinating primaries, and unexpected twists and turns. Now that we’re at the second to the last episode of the season, our heroes face two missions: Cole and Cassie back in 1957 attempt to stop the final massive paradox from happening, while Ramse, Jennifer, the Daughters and Team Revenge head to Titan to kill the Witness. It’s a race against clock as both groups hope that their objectives are achieved to prevent the collapse of time itself.

Here’s are the important things to know about Blood Washed Away:

1957-1959

Cole and Cassie have decided that the primary must be an employee inside the Maxwell Rigfield Factory. They arrive in January and the explosion happens in November that year so they have 11 months to find their target before the Messengers do.

This whole time, C & C haven’t really patched things up even though Cassie had told Cole that she didn’t want to be afraid anymore. However, they suck it up and attempt to work together to find the primary. Dr. Railly joins the secretarial staff in the office, while Cole entered the labor force. Slowly they both investigated and eliminated all the different workers in the factory. With only a few days left, the two get desperate and even more catty with their time running out and no leads.

They get into an argument and Cole heads to the Emerson’s bar to get a drink and clear his head. There he sees a co-worker named Charlie who we find out is there because his dying wife told him to get out of the house for a bit. Charlie gives his friend some advice that no matter what’s happening between him and his lady, in the end the only thing he’ll want is more time with her. Listening, Cole goes back upstairs where Cassie is on the phone. Once her call is done, she comes outside to the living room (he sleeps on the couch) and says that they have a new lead. Looks like there will be day laborers coming to the factory in the next few days to fix the roof and one of them must be the primary, which is why they haven’t found anything this whole time. She somewhat apologizes too that they haven’t been very kind of each other these months and says that she hoped Ramse would get to Titan and kill the Witness to undo all of this but it’s getting down to the line and this is their last chance.

When the day laborers start working, Cole finagles his way into watching over them. He thinks that the primary could be a man named Reginald because he’s super twitchy and seems to be afraid of Cole. He tells Cassie his suspicions and has her go through his files to see if she can uncover anything. She ends up finding a drawing of a monkey on his hiring paper. She shows it to Cole that night after he comes back to their room and tells her that he thinks Reginald is their primary.

The next day they spot Reggie and Cole tells Cassie that he can handle this himself and that if anything happens he’ll meet her back at the Emerson. Reluctantly she agrees and he takes the other man towards the back. Out front, a woman in a robe has appeared with a gun and a box for some unknown reason and Cassie hears about it once she is inside the office. She takes off thinking that it could be one of the Messengers here to paradox their primary. In the meantime Cole is discovers that Reggie is a fake and that he was paid to act frightened of him.

Cassie takes her own gun and confronts the woman inside the factory floor. The other woman asks where her husband is and the doctor in turn asks who is her husband. Charlie enters and disarms Cassie then pushes her over and goes to his dying wife Melinda. Damn. It turns out Melinda is the primary, Charlie is one of the Messengers, and against all odds they fell in love. Charlie takes the bone knife from the box as his wife reassures him that she’s known her whole life that this is what’s supposed to happen but he is in agony because he doesn’t want to hurt her.

Charlie tells Cassie that he had killed the other Messenger and that not everything the Witness said was true. Melinda is urging her husband to paradox her so that they can live together forever in the red forest. Seems like love once again is a motivating factor to bring on the end of time. Cole arrives at the scene and Charlie apologizes, saying that he of all people should understand this and then he stabs his wife. Mission fail.

Cole visits Cassie at the hospital where she has been under a coma for the last 19 days after the blast. He apologies that it was his fault and that he couldn’t stop the paradox. He whispers that the best thing for her now is to wake up and forget that she ever knew him. Cole kisses her forehead and takes one last long lingering look before departing. While asleep, Cassie has been dreaming about the red forest and the house of cedar and pine. When she finally wakes up it’s been six months since the explosion and the doctor informs her that they haven’t had any other patients from that incident. It’s now also 1958 and Cassie’s thinking wth.

She returns to the Emerson to find their room cleaned out apart of the furniture. Cassie feels completely alone and abandoned. Can’t blame her, guy should have left some kind of note at least. Another six months later, we see that she’s now working as a nurse at the hospital where doctors come to her for her medical help because she is all knowing.

We flash to 1959, Cassie is still by herself and is writing a note to Cole, wondering where he is right now and if he was with someone he loved. Looks like she has been searching for him this entire time because a bellhop knocks at her door and delivers a note from an American Union representative who said that they found an address for the name she was looking for. The name: Morris Morrison. OH COLE!!! The address is 10 Old Pines Rd. (wink wink), Binghamton NY.

We’re with you Cassie, wth is going on?

Cassie drives upstate to see Morris but is completely freaked the hell out when she gets there because YES THAT’s RIGHT, WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF MOTHER FREAKING CEDAR AND PINE. So the question is, what the hell is Cole doing there?!? Could he be the Witness after all? Oh 12 Monkeys you love with screw with us don’t you!! Many fans do believe that Cole is the Witness and him being at his house definitely makes us think, possibly.

Cole is out back sawing a piece of wood when he cuts himself and his blood falls to the tall grass. He notices her approach and asks what she’s doing here and she in turn asks the same thing. He responds that he bought the house just because he saw a for sale sign when he was driving by. The time traveler says that she is safe here because there is no plague and no red forest, she can live a life. Cassie though doesn’t want to just forget the future but Cole doesn’t know what else to do. As she berates him that he left because he was afraid, it begins to rain and her mind is going into overdrive remembering Olivia’s words. She goes inside the house with him to clean his wound. As she walks into the living room and sees the old grandfather clock, she remembers it from the time she was trapped inside her mind while the Witness controlled her body.

As she recalls red tea visions, Cassie tells a confused Cole that the Army of the 12 Monkeys knew this place and this very moment. He argues that she should forget about this an go live her life because for once there’s time. She responds back saying that this wasn’t permanent and that she’s still supposed to die at the CDC in 2018 but he says that they don’t know that. Cole believes that Ramse managed to find Titan and kill the Witness and so until time comes crashing down around them they should believe that he succeeded in the future.

Angry, Cassie says fine she’ll leave because that’s what he wants anyways and in turn Cole tells her that he left because he wanted her to be free of him. But she didn’t ask for that! She finally says what we’ve all been thinking that he left her because he’s in love with her. Cassie had always known duh. Cole though throws it right back at her because she kept pushing him away so that she wouldn’t have anyone else to lose and now she doesn’t. They have a stare down and then finally Cassie kisses him passionately. About damn time guys! The lovebirds get their groove on.

2044

Meanwhile in the future, Team Revenge is having a rough time getting to Colorado. They are incredibly low on food and supplies while having to constantly fight other scavengers along the way. Almost to their destination though, Ramse asks one of the fallen scavs if he’s seen a place about 30 miles away from here called Titan and the other man says that there is a place with lights and sounds but they stay far away from it after some of their folks went and never returned. Ramse then kills the guy without hesitation. Doing him a favor I guess?

While Whitley tells him that the group needs to rest, Ramse is adamant that they move on. However it looks like they do take some time to just relax because when nightfall hits, Deacon comes back and says that they found the other group’s camp but there wasn’t any food to be found. Hannah also returns via horseback and says that she scouted the example location of where Titan ought to be but there was nothing there.

Jennifer’s lieutenant loses her cool and challenges Ramse, tired that they didn’t really have their Mother anymore and that she didn’t want them following a mission that wasn’t even really theirs to begin with. He brings up a good counterargument because even if the Daughters left, where would they go? Where could they go? The time storm was on their heels and no place was really safe. Their only shot was to find Titan and kill the Witness to end all of this once and for all. He tells Jennifer to set her people straight but the young woman isn’t feeling very confident about her leadership skills. Her lieutenant has had it though and says that they are done following this girl. To settle this, they have a fight of course because in the apocalypse might is right? Or so it seems that to be a leader in the future, you have to be very alpha and be one badass mofo that can’t be killed easily. So they battle and Ramse wins. He’s about to slit her throat when Jennifer intercedes and begs him to stop with the killing.

Ramse, Adler, Hannah and others look at the map where Ramse says that since the GPS she was using was connected to the transponder in the Humvee that broke down that it must have sent her on the wrong direction. In addition there were hills and valleys around there so she could have been close but missed it. Jennifer comes up to the small group and says that the Daughters aren’t going with them but Hannah says that she needs to convince them to come because the storm is just behind them and its catching up fast. Hannah says that she taught them to be willing to give up their lives for each other and if that she should at least be willing to give up hers for them. Jones’ daughter decides to go with Ramse and the rest of Team Revenge to Titan still, even though she herself doesn’t know if its really there.

They head to the spot where Hannah had scouted and they finally see the lights of Titan. Once they enter, we see that it is a huge industrial complex. Music begins to play and Deacon asks Ramse why he’s going towards the sound because nothing about this place says good idea. But at this point we know that the man is beyond reason and he knows that the Witness is here. The small group comes upon a clearing where a small circular stage with strange lit up red symbols on it has been built, with a hooded person standing at the center, he/she facing away from them. Ramse immediately thinks this is Witness and tells the figure to turn around. It does and they see a person wearing the plague mask.

Ramse screams for him/her to take off the mask when other 12 Monkeys minions come out and they are ambushed. The time traveler gets stabbed and one by one everyone in his party gets killed: Whitley, Hannah, and Deacon. Death was waiting for them at Titan.

Who could you be? The Witness or another minion?

Final Thoughts

Ahhh!!! So now that both missions failed, what happens next? There is definitely something more going on with Cole and Cassie that we know off because it’s no coincidence that they are now at the house of cedar and pine. Will there be ramifications in the future now that the two have gotten together? Is Cassie still going to die at the CDC in 2018? This episode has brought on so many new questions naturally.

While we still don’t know the Witness’ identity, he must be somehow linked to Cassie and Cole, given the importance he gives to both individuals and the attachment to the house of cedar and pine. Let’s not forget the whole 1957-1959 this was home message we saw earlier this season.

There have been lots of changes for our major characters this season so far and it’s been a lot of fun to see them deal with it. Deacon fell in love and got rejected, Jennifer came to the future and has to learn to become a leader, Cole actually becoming a leader, Jones losing hope and then gaining it back, Cassie and Ramse becoming consumed with anger and revenge and becoming allies because of their common interest. It’s also been fascinating to see how intricate the plans of 12 Monkeys have been and the mystery behind the Witness.

It’s definitely been an amazing season and one can only ponder what the finale will bring and thank you Syfy for renewing (at last).

]]>https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-review-road-titan/123/feed717581’12 Monkeys’ Renewed For Season 3https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-renewed-season-3/123
https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-renewed-season-3/123#commentsWed, 29 Jun 2016 21:19:23 +0000http://www.theworkprint.com/?p=17457Praise all the gods because Syfy’s 12 Monkeys has been renewed for a season 3. EW has learned that the show has been picked up for 10 episodes for an upcoming third season that will air in 2017. 12 Monkeys is based on the 1995 film of the same name (that starred Bruce Willis, Brad …

]]>Praise all the gods because Syfy’s 12 Monkeys has been renewed for a season 3.

EW has learned that the show has been picked up for 10 episodes for an upcoming third season that will air in 2017.

12 Monkeys is based on the 1995 film of the same name (that starred Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, and Madeleine Stowe) and follows time traveler James Cole (Aaron Stanford) and CDC doctor Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull) as they battle a mysterious group known as the Army of the 12 Monkeys who seek to ensure a world where time doesn’t exist.

In the first season, the main characters struggled to stop a plague that kills off most of the world’s population and creates a dystopian future. Currently, the 12 Monkeys have been murdering primaries to destroy the fabric of time itself.

“In two short seasons, 12 Monkeys has become a cult favorite series. Terry and the cast and crew have brought to life a rich world not confined by boundaries of time, with multi-dimensional characters whose motivations for saving the world are deeply personal and intensely relatable. It’s exactly the type of smart, on-the-edge-of-your-seat entertainment we want to bring to Syfy viewers,” said President of Entertainment Networks Chris McCumber.

]]>https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-renewed-season-3/123/feed117457’12 Monkeys’ Review: Jennifer’s Holy Resurrectionhttps://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-review-jennifers-holy-resurrection/123
https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-review-jennifers-holy-resurrection/123#commentsTue, 28 Jun 2016 02:00:01 +0000http://www.theworkprint.com/?p=1739012 Monkeys Season 2, Episode 11: “Resurrection” Air Date: June 27, 2016 Reeling from the impact of last week’s botched mission, Team Splinter find themselves out of time with the storm at their doorstep in 2044. Old Jennifer sits calmly inside her tent, burning away relics from her past including her Markridge ID and …

Reeling from the impact of last week’s botched mission, Team Splinter find themselves out of time with the storm at their doorstep in 2044.

Old Jennifer sits calmly inside her tent, burning away relics from her past including her Markridge ID and a picture of herself as a child. Hannah enters asking her Mother to lead them somewhere safe, but the leader says that today is the day when one ends at the beginning and begins at the end. Very cryptic but also very important!

Meanwhile within the facility, Jones and Cole discuss his final jump back to 1957 as they only have the time to do one last splinter, which will hopefully stop the massive storm anomaly from happening. They only have a few hours before all hell breaks lose but with Dr. Adler in lockdown, the calculations are taking significantly longer than normal (since Dr. Lasky has taken over). Speaking of Team Revenge, looks like Ramse has other allies as he and the scientist go into Cassie’s room to discuss their plan to take over the facility from Jones and Cole. Adler has worked out that Titan is in Colorado and explains that he can splinter them there since an overland trek would be next to suicide (aka time travel without the time). Cassie though brings up a good question, how are they going to stop the storm? Ramse then says that The Witness must have another way to time travel and so they will use his method to go back and stop all of this from happening. Dr. Railly is still unsure though because she knows how dangerous a coup can be (hello Spearhead) and she is worried about Cole. The former scav appeals to her need for revenge against the 12 Monkeys leader and asks if she’s willing to bet her life on Titan and The Witness. She answers yes and is left in her room to mentally prepare herself while Ramse and Adler go about orchestrating a coup.

The whole facility is in the process of evacuating when some kind of electrical issue happens and while only two people are injured, one is in critical condition and requires medical attention. Cole reluctantly has Whitley bring Cassie out to help. As Dr. Railly is treating the wound, the two chat and it seems that Cole isn’t quite as pissed off as he was last week because he asks her to come with him to 1957. Unfortunately Cassie is still very upset and says that they don’t even know who the primary is during that period.

Cole: We’ll find them.

Cassie: There is no we remember? The fight is here Cole. I’m not running away.

Cole: Is that what you think I’m doing? Running away? I’m trying…

Cassie: Don’t try to save me. I’d rather take my chances in Titan.

Yikes! Well these two obviously still have their issues. Cassie though asks Cole what if there was another way to get to Titan, they could go together and kill The Witness. Just then gun shots are heard and Cole handcuffs her to the table, asking if this was the other way.

Cole and Ramse then encounter each other in one of the hallways with gunfire, but the later instructs the soldier with him not to shoot so that the boys can chat. Cole thinks that going to Titan is not the answer as Jennifer told him that only death waits for them there and they won’t find The Witness. Ramse responds that he’s already dead (because of his missing son) and that Cole can’t understand because he doesn’t have family and that he’s never been a father. Cole then says that he always thought Ramse was his family. Ouch. You guys, this opposite sides thing is not healthy for your relationship. Haven’t we learned from this already? And to top that off, Ramse tells him, “I love you too.”

Understanding that they both aren’t going to end up on the same side, the two men part ways knowing that the next time they meet, it’s going to be on because only one of them can win. Cole radios Jones to secure the planning room because Ramse, Adler, and Harris are coming to get it while he goes to even the odds. Enter drunk Deacon who has copious amounts of alcohol because Cassie’s rejected him. The ScavKing’s decided that he’s going out the way he came in, naked that is. Pissed off, Cole confronts him and says that he is a survivor, he’s been through so much and this is not how he should die so he needs to get dressed and help save the world. Deacon rallies but before anything else, pukes in the hallway with the time traveler just waiting. That’s right, just throw it all up. Moments later, the power goes out as Team Revenge has taken over the core.

Adler and Ramse are allowed into the planning room through Whitley, who turns out to be working with them much to Jones’ shock and dismay. He explains that they need to start playing offense instead of defense. Jones tries to appeal to Adler that they can still stop all of this by going back to 1957 but the other man is done with her missions because they haven’t been able to prevent anything, now it’s their turn and they are going to Titan. Cole manages to somehow get inside and hold a gun out at Adler. Ramse tells his friend that he can’t possibly stop all of them and the time traveler agrees, saying that he doesn’t have to. All of a sudden Cassie tackles him down and ends up shooting Adler in the leg. The two fight with Dr. Railly emerging the victor.

Cole tells her that she can kill him and The Witness but it won’t matter because she’ll still be afraid of herself because she let him in. Right on the money.

She locks him in the room and goes into the splinter chamber to patch Adler up. Luckily the shot missed the artery and he is able to get to work on programming the machine to take them to Titan. Jones confronts Whitley’s betrayal but the soldier says that the mission had always been hers not his. Annoyed, Ramse sticks a gun at the scientist and essentially tells her to shut her pie hole. Jones doesn’t take it laying down and calmly takes her glasses off before headbutting him.

Whitley and Ramse though get radioed that one of the Humvees took off heading north and they realize that Cole has gone out to get help from the Daughters. When he arrives at the camp, one of Old Jennifer’s lieutenants tells him that something is wrong with Mother and that he needs to convince her to leave before it’s too late. But as soon as Cole enters the tent, Old Jennifer is ready for action armed with a shotgun and a line from Die Hard, “Mayday mayday! Terrorists have taken over the Natakomi building in Century City!”

Cole doesn’t know what that means but Old Jennifer says it means that she knows why he’s here, that they’ve got his machine and he wants her and her daughters to be the cavalry.

Cole: Will you help?

Old Jennifer: Have I ever said no to you? Self preservation was never my thing.

Before they head out though, Old Jennifer tells Coles that he’s changing into a leader but that he must be prepared to make sacrifices because it’s the price of taking people on. She asks if he’s willing to let someone he loves die for his mission and for the good of the world. He answers yes and sagely she nods, saying that once he does he mustn’t look back.

Back at the facility, Whitley sees Cole and the Daughters approaching from the south while on lookout with Harris. As he is about to go and guard the loading dock, Deacon makes his surprise appearance. Honestly I can’t believe Ramse and Cassie forgot about him during their plans! The ScavKing kills Harris and shoots out a flare while having Whit secure a rope that the Daughters can use to scale the building and get inside. With the might of the Daughters, Cole is able to take the splinter room away from Team Revenge and Deacon re-appears singing Don’t You Forget About Me from the Breakfast Club soundtrack.

He apologizes to Cassie who understands that it’s not personal, oh but actually for him it is. He could care less about the mission, he just couldn’t pass up a chance to piss off Jose and her. Ramse angrily tells Teddy to get over it. The ScavKing literally is about to fire back when the other man pushes his gun away and Old Jennifer is shot instead. Hannah screams and slashes Deacon’s face but allows Cassie to come help.

They take Old Jennifer to the other room and Cole asks if this is the sacrifice she was talking about. She tells him that today is September 23, 2044, the day she dies. When this happens her daughters are going to kill all of them unless there’s a resurrection. Now what could that possibly mean? Cole says that there’s no time for him to undo this but Old Jennifer instead explains that he needs to find a version of her that needs the Daughters.

Understanding, Cole has Jones send him back to his last coordinates in 2016 where he reunites with Jennifer in room 607. She is confused as all hell but doesn’t refuse him when he asks for her help. The two splinter back to 2044 where the Daughters bow down acknowledging that she is their Mother.

Jennifer’s trippy journey doesn’t end though because she meets her older self who is dying. Old Jennifer tells her that the Daughters are hers now and that they need a leader. For years she had apparently promised them a holy resurrection, wink wink. She says that 2016 Jennifer now faces a choice, to spit in the face of death and take the Daughters to Titan to fight the Army of the 12 Monkeys once and for all or to take them far away from here in the hopes that Cole succeeds and that one day this war will be over. Teary-eyed young Jennifer asks what she had picked when she was her and the dying woman answered not to go to Titan because she wasn’t willing to risk the lives of her Daughters, but maybe if she was braver she could have helped save the world. Old Ms. Goines tells her 2016 self that she can be a better version of her. They finish each other’s sentence and both giggle-snort while both saying, “choose your own adventure.”

Old Jennifer: I love you, I know that’s a weird thing to hear but later you’ll need to remember that. Ok I’m dying now.

Oh Jennifer, I love all versions of you! This was an incredibly powerful scene that was acted the hell out of by Emily Hampshire.

Returning to the splinter room, she makes her decision and tells Cole that he needs to get ready to go back to 1957 then says to Ramse and Cassie that if they want The Witness they’re gonna go after him. Ramse complains that they can’t navigate the storm but Jennifer has a yellow brick road map in her mind son! They all start prepping for their own missions and it seems that boys have made peace but Cassie still isn’t talking to time Jesus.

Jones thanks Cole before sending him off for believing in her because she knows that this could be the last time that they ever see each other if he fails to stop the paradox. The two share a tender moment amidst the oncoming apocalypse and hug while I get intense sad feels thanks to the orchestral accompaniment.

As Team Revenge is heading out towards Titan, Cassie looks back to see the storm over the facility and then at Ramse with obvious torment in her eyes. The man eventually stops the vehicle as if to say, just go hurry up and be with Cole cuz you know you luvs him. She gets out and sprints back. Run Cassie run! This is all so dramatic and I love ittttttt. She makes it into the machine room just as Cole splinters and goes up to Jones with tears in her eyes. After a moment the scientist grabs one of the injections and Cassie rolls her sleeve up so she can get the shot then she scurries to the machine for one last jump.

Hannah, Jones, and Dr. Lasky then try to exit out of the facility but the time storm is already inside and the poor man gets caught in the anomaly. The doctor takes her daughter through another way out when another anomaly gets in between them. Jones urges Hannah to go but her child refuses to leave her. Finally the younger woman is convinced and cries as she says goodbye to her mother. Jones heads back into the splinter room and sits on the chair as the storm encircles her and then she is gone.

Are you crying yet? No? You have no soul. After being reunited only a few episodes ago (episode 8 – Lullaby), this has got to be one of the saddest scenes ever. I’d say though that Jones didn’t have any regrets, she at least had a little bit of happiness now that she knew her daughter was alive. She believed in her mission and hopefully Cole succeeds and manages to save the world.

In 1957, Cole emerges from the bar of the Emerson hotel into the lobby and is surprised to see Cassie there. She tells him that she doesn’t want to be afraid anymore.

Geez louise what an episode! Now that 2016 Jennifer is in the future, she will have to learn from her experiences with the Hyenas and become the Mother that she is meant to be. Who knew that she would end up in 2044 to take the place of her older self. I did not see that coming. At some point though she will have to go back in time again to establish the Daughters to begin with since we know in 2020 she was already leading them (when she was being held in Spearhead).

Speaking of Spearhead though, after episode 8 when time kept resetting itself to make sure that Jones invented time travel, what Jennifer had said to Jones (after she had drunk the red tea) that time can think and therefore is more than just an infinite progression of events. How will that eventually affect the rest of the characters we’ll just have to wait and see.

The whole season thus far has been a crescendo and we’re entering the most intense episodes yet. What will Ramse and the others find at Titan? Will Cassie and Cole succeed in preventing the paradox? Will Jones come back to life or is she dead dead?

Syfy needs to hurry up and renew the show for season 3 already because this is the best science fiction show on television right now.

Final Thoughts:

What was that little moment between Old Jennifer and Deacon?? Is young Jennifer and the ScavKing going to get together?? That would be AWESOME.

Also I will never forget Deacon’s naked scene and then him barfing in the hallway.

Ramse, Cole, and Cassie’s love/hate relationships triangle is nutty. I just want them to all just get along already.

Is there something brewing between Cassie and Ramse after last week’s episode when Ramse told the Moussad agent that if he hurts her he’ll kill him? Plus when he asks her this episode who handcuffed her he seemed more than “just friends” pissed. Just sayin.

While Jones may be the mother of time travel, Adler is the father of teleportation!

]]>https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-review-jennifers-holy-resurrection/123/feed517390’12 Monkeys’ Review: Olivia’s Origin Story Revealedhttps://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-olivia-origin/123
https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-olivia-origin/123#commentsTue, 21 Jun 2016 02:00:08 +0000http://www.theworkprint.com/?p=1726512 Monkeys Season 2, Episode 10: “Fatherland” Air Date: June 20, 2016 We’re back and in this week’s episode of 12 Monkeys, the show takes us to Berlin in 1961 where we discover the origins of Olivia and the 12 Messengers. It’s a time when there was a lot of heightened tension during the …

We’re back and in this week’s episode of 12 Monkeys, the show takes us to Berlin in 1961 where we discover the origins of Olivia and the 12 Messengers. It’s a time when there was a lot of heightened tension during the Cold War and Team Splinter find themselves right in the middle of the action.

But first we start off in 2016 Berlin, Olivia visits an abandoned facility with one of her minions. Still wheelchair bound and recovering from her injuries, she explains to her attendant that this is place was where a great betrayal happened many years ago.

In 2044, Ramse and Cassie argue with Cole and Jones about going to Berlin in 1961 to find former Nazi scientist Dr. Isaac Kirschner (played by the fantastic Matt Frewer) because of a CIA report they found noting Titan and The Witness. Though much of the report was redacted. Meanwhile, Cole wants to find a primary in 1957 to save their life and hopefully to undo the storms in their present. After an intense argument, Ramse does a 180 degree turn and says that he’s willing to go with Cole’s plan instead prompting a confused Cassie.

But the former scav isn’t really giving up, instead he convinces Adler to help him and Cassie to program the jump for 1961 instead.

The three time travelers splinter back to the past, but as Cole is roofied by his compatriots, realization dawns upon him that that they aren’t actually in 1957. He wakes up to find himself alone inside room 607 and decides to contact FBI Agent Gale for help. Gale meets him at the Emerson and says that Cassie and Ramse had used fake passports and landed in Berlin about an hour ago. Cole asks for the agent’s help since he’s broke and doesn’t speak German and eventually the other man heeds the call to adventure. Gale makes an interesting comment though that he’s known the chrononaut for a long time, but Cole is confused because this is only their second meeting. So that leads me to believe that they’ll meet again in Gale’s past/Cole’s future.

Meanwhile Cassie and Ramse track Kirschner to an opera in Berlin where they attempt to nab he doctor before lethal Mossad agents beat them to it. Unfortunately they are cornered and are captured themselves along with the former Nazi scientist. As they are being interrogated, Cassie tries to explain that the just want to ask the doctor about a place called Titan and a man who calls himself The Witness and that’s it. The Mossad agents understandably want to know who they are actually working as the CIA had never heard of them. Thankfully, Cole and Gale arrive in time for the rescue.

Cole tells Ramse that they stupidly created their own clue because he saw the full CIA report and that the only reason Titan and The Witness are mentioned is because they had said it while they were being interrogated. Whoops. Cassie is hell bent on getting information though and proves to Cole that they aren’t just blinded by revenge when they see the all too familiar necklace with the Titan symbol on Kirschner’s neck.

The scientist then reveals that as a young man he was approached by a mysterious figure who had witnessed many things. This person told him about the coming plague, the Berlin Wall, and that he would be asked to do terrible things by the Nazis. He also said that he was brought a woman who was different from anyone else, genetically perfect (Vivian!). Gale puts together that Kirschner must have been the person who responsible for creating the 12 Messengers through his research. Fearing for his life, the scientist agrees to take them to his lab to show them his work but first they must somehow get through the wall.

Gale takes them to a section of the Berlin wall that was supposed to be unprotected but now a number of troops were patrolling it to prevent anyone from sneaking in or out. Ramse goes first and manages to move one of the wood panels to make an opening and then Cassie and Kirchner were to follow next. Except that the damn doctor trips and the soldiers begin shooting. Gale tells Cole to go while he covers him, saying that when he sees his granddaughter all he sees his a dead girl and there isn’t a damn thing he can do about it, but Cole can. The FBI agent sacrifices his own life and Team Splinter gets away with Kirschner taking them to an all too familiar facility.

When they get there, the he tells them that if what they say is true then they shouldn’t be weakened by sympathy when they see his research. Surprise it turns out to be a little girl! The child is locked inside a brick room within the room itself and she comes close to the glass window calling Kirschner “father” and asks if he’s come to say goodbye like Mother said he would. Team Splinter definitely wasn’t prepared for this scenario but it makes sense. The scientist had been able to create this young girl to be stronger, immune from diseases, etc. through the genetic material he received from the female messenger Vivian (also Pallid Man’s mom). Soon enough she arrives with her goons and shoots Kirschner, taking the young girl away to safety.

Amidst the gunfight, Ramse sees the big word of The Witness map and as they are being pulled back to 2044, he grabs the coordinates of Titan’s location before splintering. Once they are all back in the future Cole has Whitley lock Ramse and Cassie up for sabotaging the original mission to stop the primary from being paradoxed in 1957 through the help of Dr. Adler. Earlier, Adler had admitted that he had helped the two out of anger and frustration that Jones had not fulfilled her end of the bargain and saved all of them from the plague that took his son. Cassie tries to plead with Cole that they can still fix this but Cole says that there is no we anymore. Ouch.

Back in the past, Vivian brings the little girl to her new home and we discover that she is in fact, young Olivia. The female messenger gives her the necklace that was pardoxed back in season one and tells her how she has a purpose. In 2016, the grown up Olivia gets up from her wheelchair and walks out on her own two feet. We then cut to her speaking to the bust of a statue, angrily saying she had told her that The Witness would never abandon her but she lied. Olivia chooses to end her place in the cycle today as she leaves the necklace with the Titan symbol and seemingly abandons the Army of the 12 Monkeys.

Olivia’s origin story is fascinating as she came into being only because time travel itself exists. She was created through Vivian (one of the time traveling Messengers) who later on will be created from her. A question of who came first, the chicken or the egg? But at least now we know why Pallid Man and herself don’t seem to age, they are both genetically modified to be stronger, disease resistant, slow to age, and fast to heal. Essentially PM, Olivia, and the Messengers are Wolverine minus the adamantium and claws.

“Fatherland” sets us up for the final three episodes of the season, which undoubtedly will be full of unexpected twists and turns. Now that mission 1957 didn’t happen, will Team Splinter be able to save themselves from the time storm? Or are they all doomed by Ramse, Cassie, and Adler’s actions?

Final thoughts:

Deacon admitting to Cassie before she splintered that he had feelings for her and then being rejected was so awkward, but also you had the feels. We luv you Tearsy McTearson!

It’s so fun to see relationships between characters change as temporary new alliances are formed due to changes in circumstances (aka Ramse & Cassie).

Can’t help but sympathize for Dr. Adler because while Jones got her child back, his son is still dead and so he wants to find another solution. He’s the biggest underdog on the show and I’m rooting for him!

Now that Olivia has appeared to have left the Army of the 12 Monkeys, where will she go and what will she do? Interestingly enough she now must find a new purpose like Jennifer. I’m sure this won’t be the last we’ll see of her.

Alisen Down’s performance was fantastic in this episode! Bravo.

The show puts a lot of emphasis on family, both the ones you are genetically related to as well as the one you create yourself.

Until next week! Here’s the promo for episode 11, the first in the 3 part finale for season 2.

]]>https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-olivia-origin/123/feed417265’12 Monkeys’: 7 Game-Changing Moments in ‘Meltdown’https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-7-game-changing-moments-meltdown/123
https://www.theworkprint.com/12-monkeys-7-game-changing-moments-meltdown/123#commentsTue, 31 May 2016 02:09:18 +0000http://www.theworkprint.com/?p=1695012 Monkeys Season 2, Episode 7: “Meltdown” Air Date: May 30, 2016 This week’s 12 Monkeys episode is a heartbreaking one as not only do we say goodbye to a character, but everyone’s world is turned upside down in the catastrophic events that happen in 2044. Here are the 7 game-changing events that you should …

This week’s 12 Monkeys episode is a heartbreaking one as not only do we say goodbye to a character, but everyone’s world is turned upside down in the catastrophic events that happen in 2044.

Here are the 7 game-changing events that you should know:

Jones and Eckland Get Busy

When the timeline was altered earlier this season, Jones found herself catching up with this new version of 2044 and discovered that her other self had a romantic relationship with Dr. Eckland. While she was completely flabbergasted by the situation, the mischievous scientist told her that he gets to woo her all over again and boy did he ever! We finally see the two lovers together in Jones’ quarters, him with his shirt partially undone and her in a robe. I’m sooooo happy for these two!!!

Cassie Goes Back to the Future with Disastrous Consequences

Reeling from her kidnapping and subsequent encounter with the Witness, Cassie finally returns to 2044 but unknowingly brings a whole mess of trouble with her. She is still feeling the effects of the “full immersion” from the red forest tea and keeps seeing the Witness in the facility, making her question her own sanity. Cassie seems to hear Olivia’s voice talking her through the red forest and she follows it to the splinter room and there she sees the 12 Monkeys leader again (tinkering with the machine) before waking up in her chamber with no memory of how she got there.

Jones though decides to check the time stream data of when Cassie was in 2016 to see if there are any anomalies that give credence to Dr. Railly’s claim that the Witness was physically in room 607 at the Emerson Hotel. But what they find is another tether that is anchored at the facility in 2044. Jones tells Dr. Adler to recalibrate the machine and run another test but something goes terribly wrong. Everything goes haywire as the machine begins to overload splinter radiation because of too much power. They aren’t able to cut the power down from the console for some unknown reason and so someone has to do it manually from the core. If that doesn’t happen it’ll explode taking the base with it.

Craziness ensues as earlier splinter volunteers appear totally disfigured having been lost in the time stream and anything hit by the radiation vanishing into the unknown. Deacon and Eckland decide to go get piece needed to fix the machine while Cole and Cassie head to the core to shut the power down and run into Ramse and Sam. We learn to little too late that it was Dr. Railly, being controlled by the Witness who had caused all of this. She ends up taking Sam to the core room and locking it to prevent the boys from entering and even sticks a gun to the poor kid.

Eckland’s Heroic Sacrifice

Once Eckland and Deacon come back from finding the spare part plus dealing with the poor soldiers from 1950 that accidentally got splintered to 2044, the scientist decides to do the most ridiculous, heart-wrenching, hair-pulling, declaration of love ever for Jones. After the splinter room is evacuated, Eckland goes in himself with Jones helpless to stop him. He says that there’s nothing like going out through a wild romantic gesture to a beautiful woman all in the name of love. In desperation Jones screams that she doesn’t love him so that he might come back inside but he counters that she did once and that can’t be erased. My heart is melting. Once he puts in the spare part, Eckland begins to dissolve with Jones unable to do anything but watch. This scene killed me, just when she had something good in her life it gets ripped from her.

Cassie is Trapped Inside the House of Cedar and Pine

While the Witness has control of her body, Cassie is stuck inside the house within the red forest. Somehow the full immersion has allowed the leader of the 12 Monkeys to tether himself to the doctor and take over her consciousness. Through her he was able to sabotage the machine without Cassie remembering what was happening. However, while trapped she sees the Witness standing outside and behind him looms some kind of industrial city with the mysterious symbol (that we’ve seen on the necklace both Ramse and Olivia had as well as the neck tattoo on her) and the word “Titan” on the water tower.

Cole Gets Shot

Cole is able to get inside the core room via a river access that is used to help cool the power source. Once he gets in, he tries to reach Cassie but the Witness is still firmly in control with the real Doctor Railly trapped in another plane of existence. In the physical world she then sticks a gun at Sam, preventing him from being able to do anything. Ramse soon follows though and points his gun at Cassie, ready to take her out to save his kid. Cole, caught in a terrible situation between the woman he loves and his best friend, realizes that the real Cassie wouldn’t let him die and so he tells Ramse to shoot him instead. Thankfully it works and a door in the house opens for the doctor, allowing her full control of her body once more.

Sam Becomes Lost in Time

This poor kid really got a raw deal. He’s been telling his dad that his life is not worth everyone else’s, generally stayed out of people’s way in the facility, and is even extremely helping in helping Cole and Ramse get inside the core room but ultimately gets a bad deal. While the core gets shut down, there is a sudden surge of splinter radiation that sends Sam into the time stream. Where/when he ends up is unknown but someone wearing gloves (that looks suspiciously like the Witness’) offers a hand that he takes. Sam is a smart kid, he wouldn’t just go with some stranger so whoever this person is, it’s someone he already knows.

Ramse Leaves the Facility

After Sam’s disappearance, Ramse understandably decides to head out. He has a tense conversation with Jones and asks whether or not she thinks his son survived to which she responds unlikely, but he had been lost in time once and he’d found his way home. Unfortunately Ramse points out that Sam is just a boy. Both Kirk Acevedo and Barbara Sukowa gave amazing performances in this scene as two parents who’ve both lost their children. Jones feels the weight of her choices as she feels responsible for what happened to both Sam and Eckland.

Final Thoughts

It looked like Sam was with Cassie (wearing a suit) when she was imagining she was in the red forest, how was he there?

Deacon telling Ramse that he needs to get into the core room to stop Cassie because neither Cole or himself has it in them to kill her (awww!!)

Cassie looks super creepy when she as the Witness is speaking to Cole inside the core room

Ramse and Jones looking at each other after Sam disappears was so painful to watch considering she had just lost someone herself (Eckland). It’s like she’s completely given up.

This was such an emotional and intense episode that left me reeling from the serious blow the Witness dealt Team Splinter. Though I wonder why the 12 Monkeys leader wanted to destroy the facility when he had needed it before. Could it mean that he no longer has any use for it because at least some of the Messengers have already been dispatched to cause the paradoxes?

Season 2’s narrative continues to be sinfully good as the story unfolds into a much larger picture. While we now know the Witness’ goal is to destroy time to eliminate death, who’s death is he trying to prevent? After this episode, we’ve learned that he can tether into a mind via the red forest tea, though I do wonder if this would work with any person, or is there something special about Cassie?

Also, where in time has Sam gone? All these new questions! Just when we think things can’t get any crazier, 12 Monkeys pulls it off and then some.

In 12 Monkeys this week, it’s up to Cole and Ramse to find primary Kyle Slade before he is paradoxed by Messengers sent back in time.

In 2044, Jones (Barbara Sukowa) stands outside smoking her cigarette and watching the red thundering sky as time continues to collapse all around them. Eckland (Michael Hogan) interrupts her brooding with information on Kyle Slade (David Dastmalchian). Meanwhile, Ramse (Kirk Acevedo) and Cole (Aaron Stanford) are playing a game with young Sam (Peter DaCunha). There’s a particular moment when Ramse says, “That’s your problem. You’ve got no plan! You rush down that hallway naked, he’s gonna get you.” Cole goes for it of course and they are both ambushed by Sam (with paper bullets). Their little game comes to an end when Jones finds them and says that they know how to find the primary in 1975.

Ramse has a heart to heart with his son in the splinter room where Sam tells his dad that he could have saved the lives of a lot of people but didn’t. The young boy understood that his father loved him but it wasn’t just about his future, it’s about everyone’s. Well ain’t he a wise kid? You did good Elena.

In the meeting room, we find out that Kyle is a drifter and is believed to live somewhere near Greenwich Village. There are also four unaccounted Messengers and Jones believes that there is a good chance that two were dispatched to handle each primary. The scientist goes on to say that Kyle was believed to be the serial killer known as the Immortal, responsible for the murder and dismemberment of at least 12 people between 1974 and 1975. Jennifer wasn’t kidding when she said he was dangerous. The primary had been dishonorably discharged from the army after reportedly butchering numerous Viet Cong soldiers during the Vietnam War. Cole of course is clearly disturbed that he has to protect this guy but Jones makes it clear that he only has to prevent him from being paradoxed. That’s good? To find Kyle, he first needs to find the killer’s final victim, a waitress named Victoria Mason whom was murdered on July 22, 1975 (incidentally the same day Slade’s body was found).

Ramse comes in saying they follow her to Slade, wait till the Messengers come and then they take them out. Looks like his son’s word made an impact as Ramse has voluntarily agreed to go on a mission with Cole in order to watch out for him. The bromance is alive and well right now as the two trade barbs and Ramse claims that Jones would send him anyways to save Cole’s life yet again. Jones warns the two though not to change time anymore than they already have (aka let Victoria die).

As they arrive in 1975, both men walk into the diner where Victoria works and Ramse is obviously the edgier fashionista with his patterned shirt. The two get some grub and seemingly unable to stop himself, Ramse ends up flirting with the soon to be attacked waitress. Unexpectedly however, they see that Victoria has a young son and both feel conflicted about letting her die. That night though as they wait in the alley, Ramse is adamant that they do not alter the future. Kyle makes his appearance and begins to abduct Victoria and Cole is the one who comes to her rescue with an annoyed Ramse following. Preventing the her death though alters the timeline and causes both chrononauts to be disoriented, allowing Kyle to get away with one of the Messengers (who looks to be Adam Kenneth Wilson, aka Ragnor Fell in Shadowhunters) chasing after him.

The boys bring Victoria back to the Emerson and tell her the truth, which of course sounds crazy. The woman though is not quite so grateful to her saviors at getting a second chance. She is told to stay put while the two of them go to the hotel bar to grab some drinks. There Cole gets the idea of calling in the local NYPD and submit a tip to help them find Kyle. They pass themselves off as two journalists looking to get an exclusive of the Immortal’s arrest. At first the two NYPD officers refuse to have them ride along but Cole shows them an article of the police bungling the arrest and threaten that this goes to press unless they are allowed to come. Reluctantly the cops agree.

Kyle has taken a hostage at a small convenience store and Team Splinter has arrives outside with the police. Cole, not heading Ramse’s warnings plunges ahead (yet again) and goes inside. He then tells the primary that he knows who he is and that last night a man from the future tried to kill him. Kyle confirms it and says, “It’s you. James Cole.” The serial murderer has been waiting for him after all. The time traveler convinces the other man that he would be safer in jail and that the Messengers can’t get him there. Kyle blurts out that he can take him to the Witness now. What the what? How is the leader of the 12 Monkeys there? The primary claims that he’s captured him but before he can say anything else the NYPD burst in and he is taken into their custody.

Undeterred, Cole commandeers a police vehicle and follows the two detectives who have personally taken Kyle. He then is able to overtake the detectives’ car and forces the two law enforcement officers out so that Kyle can take him to the Witness. The boys argue because Ramse is trying to get his friend to see sense that they can’t trust this primary. Their mission is just to protect him not to chase this lead on the mysterious 12 Monkeys leader. At this point Cole is beyond reason and he chooses to follow Kyle. Ramse calls him an idiot but lets him go despite knowing that this cannot end well. Cole counters with, “it was always my mission, not yours,” before leaving the scene.

Back at the Emerson, Ramse enters room 607 with Victoria tied up to a chair. The other Messenger asks him if Cole with the primary, to which the traveler answers yes. The end up fighting (of course) but Victoria manages to stab the messenger with a letter opener distracting him. Now that he’s trying to kill her, Ramse is then able to overpower him and deliver the killing blow. He asks the waitress if he can borrow her car and tells her from one parent to another that she needs to go home and take care of her son because her life is not about her anymore.

Kyle takes Cole to his hideout where there are hacked limbs and blood all over the place. As they walk over, the other man claims that the people he killed in Vietnam were all primaries and that he had no choice because the Witness wanted to paradox them. Cole asks about Victoria because she wasn’t a primary but Kyle says that she was a means to an end and that he didn’t actually want to hurt her. He begins to also talk about an ancient group of warriors called the Immortals that had no attachments in life and their only purpose was the battle. Kyle seemed to view Cole and himself like these guys. He also mentions how the Witness wants to be immortal in the timeless forest and then enters his home. Interesting.

Inside, he warns Cole about a trip wire for uninvited guests and as the two men go deeper in, the chrononaut must be wondering what he’s gotten himself into with all those bloody limbs hung about. Kyle then points out a tied person towards the back of the room whom he says is the Witness. We then get a close up of the person who is wearing a black hood and some weird looking stitched up skin mask. When both men stand in front of the cage, Kyle explains how the Witness had come for him but he was smarter and had trapped his would be killer instead. He had used Victoria as a way to bring Cole to him in order to have the other man kill the Witness. To make matters even weirder, the primary says that once it’s done they can go home together to the future. Well now, Cole has got himself a new companion! Kyle though does tell us something intriguing that the Witness is from the future as well and he also been time traveling but has done so for far longer. The leader of the 12 Monkeys also has technologies far more advanced that theirs and has special abilities (like getting inside your mind), but he is still just a man who can be killed. Kyle then shows him the bone dagger (just like Tommy’s) and urges Cole to kill the prisoner with it because time wants him to do it. The primary insists that he must be the one, but when the skin mask is removed, we discover that this person is not the Witness but the second Messenger.

As he explains this to Kyle, the man flips out believing that he was too important and that he knew the Witness wanted to kill him personally. The primary then pulls out a gun but Ramse arrives with his own weapon and tells his friend that they should end both of these guys and get out of there. To make matters even more complicated the two NYPD detectives show up and Cole tells Ramse to get down knowing about the trip wire. After the explosion, Kyle tries to choke the time traveler, the messenger attempts to paradox Kyle but is shot by Ramse, Cole then frees himself and then shoots the primary (deciding that this guy was not worth saving).

Meanwhile at the Emerson Hotel in 2016, Cassie (Amanda Schull) injects Jennifer (Emily Hampshire) with a sedative so that she can sleep and recover. At first Ms. Goines feels wide-awake and complains how their room smells old and is probably haunted. She babbles that some people think ghosts are just replays, dramatic moments recorded in their surroundings into time. Is that another nugget that will come into play in future episodes? The drug soon kicks in though and Cassie helps her into bed. Sleepily Jennifer asks the doc if she believes in ghosts to which the other woman replies no, but she can’t get the flashes of the Witness morphing into Aaron (Noah Bean) from her mind.

Cassie goes out into the hallway to get some ice from the ice machine when she begins to hear someone calling her name. Following the sound, she goes back into the room where a scarred Aaron has appeared before her. Understandably, she’s freaking the F out because he’s supposed to be dead. Cassie is feeling guilty, confused, and shocked all at the same time. The former political aid begins to explain that the 12 Monkeys saved him and that they aren’t the enemy. They are all basically fighting the same battle only on different fronts. Aaron says how in the fire the only thing that kept him going was Cassie and how horrible he felt that he would die without getting the chance to say he was sorry. He wants her to understand that time is the real enemy and that without it you could be with the one you love forever. Still somewhat confused from this surreal conversation she was having with him, Cassie protests that it can’t be this way. As Aaron gets more adamant about how the red forest is the only way to beat death, she realizes that something is not right with him. He tightens his grip on Cassie’s hand and then his eyes go all black, prompting her to realize that she’s actually talking to the Witness. He then morphs into Cole, asking if this is the face she prefers. Freaked out even more, he then vanishes before her eyes as someone grabs her shoulder.

Jennifer snaps Cassie out of her experience and somehow they are both at the lobby of the Emerson. The primary tries to cover Dr. Railly’s trance walking by saying that the other woman had a little too much to drink because it was her birthday. Confused and scared, Cassie tells Jennifer that the Witness was here and that she needs to leave because she is no longer safe here with her. The other woman though asks the doctor what if it was all in her head (appreciating the irony coming from her). Cassie is convinced that it felt real and she doesn’t want to take the chance. Jennifer sees this whole experience as a positive event though because now she thinks that the Witness is scared and that they need to go monkey hunting. The gals need to become a pack of hyenas and take the fight to them! Except Cassie doesn’t have much fight left in her and Ms. Goines asks what he had said to her to cause this much fear and anxiety. The doctor answers that he wants to destroy time so that there’d be no death and that he made it sound almost beautiful. Poignantly, Jennifer states that death is a time clock and makes us better, makes us love harder and what makes us human. Well said.

Back in 2044, Ramse, Cole, Eckland and Jones are outside and we can visibly see that preventing the 1975 paradox has caused the temporal storm to recede. The two bros have a heart to heart and Cole apologizes for almost getting his friend killed. Ramse essentially accepts and says that he thinks Cole’s leaping without thinking is really because he has a good heart and that one of these days its going to help them out of this whole mess. Till then someone’s got to have his back.

Cole: Listen man, you know I lov…

Rame: Ohhhh what are you doing??

Cole: What?

Ramse: You don’t say that…

Cole: Say what?

Ramse: You never say that!

Cole: I was going to say I love whiskey. We should go find some and drink it.

Ramse: No you weren’t. You were going to declare your undying love for me brother.

Oh these two, how can you not love them? After everything that’s happened so far it warms my heart to see their bromance alive and well. As they leave the roof Ramse says, “me too.” AWWWWWWWWWW GUYS!!!

We end this week’s episode in 2016 where Cassie has discovered that Jennifer has left the Emerson. She leaves a note telling the other woman that she still has a lot of fight left in her and to take it to the future while she’s going to take it to the streets. As Cassie looks at the injection that would activate her tether back to 2044 the lights begin to flicker and we get various of flashes of her in the red forest, inside the creepy house, the Witness approaching her, then him actually flashing into the hotel room (though it could be in her mind), and then her eyes turn full black the way the Witness as Aaron/Cole did earlier.

What could this mean? Could what Kyle said be true and that the Witness can go into people’s minds? This could be what “full immersion” meant but to what purpose?

Also if you are wondering why Kyle looks so familiar, it’s because the awesome David Dastmalchian was Kurt in Marvel’s Ant-Man! He did a fantastic job playing the complicated Mr. Slade and showed audiences how primaries can go dark as well.

This week’s themes seemed to revolve around death and friendship. Kyle felt that he was an immortal and was too important to be killed. The Witness telling Cassie that he wanted to destroy time so that there would no longer be death and suffering (but according the the primary, he wanted to be immortal himself). Jennifer then giving her two cents that death makes us love harder and thinks that its what ultimately makes us human. We also saw the strengthened bond between Cole and Ramse, while Cassifer’s relationship also grew as it was Jennifer’s turn to take care of Dr. Railly through her recent traumatic experience.

We learned a lot in this episode, most importantly that the Witness’ real identity is still unknown. We know that he can morph into different people and potentially can enter people’s minds. In a previous article I pondered on who the Witness could be (click HERE) and thought that we could possibly rule out Cole and Cassie, but now I’m not so sure. The writers have been incredibly clever in setting up twists so it really could be anyone darnit but the anticipation is part of the fun.

We’re nearly halfway through season 2 and the excitement just doesn’t stop. We’ve also gotten significant character growth for all the major players and it’s been so fascinating to see them deal with new circumstances out of their comfort zone. The stakes keep on getting raised on both sides and it seems that everyone will experience great challenges in the episodes to come and I can hardly wait!